Ever received a call that reignited your passion for what you do? That's exactly what happened to me when a former client, who had parted ways with Palm Living Magazine under a cloud of dissatisfaction, left a voicemail that would spark the conversation for today's episode. They wanted back in, and it got me thinking about the undeniable value of conviction and the art of relationship-building in sales. Join me as I recount my own evolution from a publisher desperately dialing for dollars to someone who learned the worth of patiently nurturing business connections. It's a tale of transition, from the arduous grind of cold calling to the rewarding process of cultivating lasting success as a publisher.
We're peeling back the layers on the sales process, likening it to planting seeds that need consistent tending — not just hope and a prayer. You'll get an insider's look at why cold calling can feel like casting seeds on barren ground, and how a more strategic, nurturing approach can yield a veritable harvest of sales. Whether you're a sales veteran or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights on growing your influence and watching your income and community magazine flourish. So, come along and discover how to transform your sales journey into one that's as fulfilling as it is profitable.
Ever received a call that reignited your passion for what you do? That's exactly what happened to me when a former client, who had parted ways with Palm Living Magazine under a cloud of dissatisfaction, left a voicemail that would spark the conversation for today's episode. They wanted back in, and it got me thinking about the undeniable value of conviction and the art of relationship-building in sales. Join me as I recount my own evolution from a publisher desperately dialing for dollars to someone who learned the worth of patiently nurturing business connections. It's a tale of transition, from the arduous grind of cold calling to the rewarding process of cultivating lasting success as a publisher.
We're peeling back the layers on the sales process, likening it to planting seeds that need consistent tending — not just hope and a prayer. You'll get an insider's look at why cold calling can feel like casting seeds on barren ground, and how a more strategic, nurturing approach can yield a veritable harvest of sales. Whether you're a sales veteran or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights on growing your influence and watching your income and community magazine flourish. So, come along and discover how to transform your sales journey into one that's as fulfilling as it is profitable.
I got a voicemail the other day from a previous client who left my magazine about six months ago. How dare them? Their message was interesting because through their three year campaign they were very vocal about their lack of results. Now their voicemail message Charlie, we would like to get back into your Palm Living Magazine. Can you give me a call please? Now I'm no longer a publisher, so I pass that sale onto one of my publisher CRM clients. But the fact that I got a call actually inspired this episode and speaks to the importance of staying in front of mine, because some of those no's and yes non-renewals will turn into sales when you build the right relationships and never let them forget you. Hello. Hi, it's the no Cold Calls Ever show Go away.
Speaker 1:
What seeds are you planting? Seeds need water. We can't just plant and pray right, that's one of the challenges of cold calling. We plant and then what? Just like going into the garden and trying to harvest crops before the seedlings have even broken through the soil. Now, sure, some early growers might emerge from the soil, but for the most part there's a lot of waste, wasted potential on the crop, not making it to maturity and providing you and your family the nourishment you require. But it's all that wasted effort in the harvest, all that time and energy with little to show for it, that leaves you exhausted and defeated. And the real danger? Because we're all human and at some point we say enough. All this work putting myself out there, for what? No matter how lucrative the end goal might be, if we can't get traction, that goal starts looking more and more like a mirage, which is both sad and unnecessary. Sad, because it's not just you that suffers. That lucrative publisher income would do wonders for your family and the local business community who needs your help. Unnecessary because you could nurture those seeds instead. What if you gave them just the right amount of water, sun, fertilizer and then, when harvest time rolls around, you reap a million dollar bounty of sales. Your magazine grows, your influence in the community grows, your confidence and conviction in how you help local businesses grows.
Speaker 1:
Success as a publisher can be as much about what we don't do as it is what we do. When I first started as a publisher, I wanted success immediately, like yesterday. I had to succeed because the financial wall surrounding me had already crumbled. I needed a significant quick fix if I had any hope of getting back on my feet. So, although extremely uncomfortable, I'd pick up the phone and make those dang cold calls. It seemed to me like the quickest way to success. And maybe if I was in my prior home of Westchester, pennsylvania, where I had a health club with 15,000 members where the majority of local business owners worked at, I would have had a much easier time booking appointments because they already knew me. But those calls wouldn't have been cold calls, right, they're warm calls. So, yeah, if you have an established relationship with any business owner in your community, those warm calls they're so much easier and more productive. That seed think about it has already reached maturity and it's ready for harvest.
Speaker 1:
Or maybe you have recognizable authority in your community. Then you have the same warm call advantage. I had a recognizable chain of health clubs for 23 years, so if I'd not moved from Westchester, I would have been able to get appointments from just about any business owner in the community. My name recognition and authority as a long time business owner would have been all I needed. And kudos to you if you're a publisher who's had that advantage. You're legendary stories of publishers who've been able to parlay their prior business career into achieving record setting and consistent results as a publisher. But hey, that's far from the norm and it's probably not you. So then what?
Speaker 1:
Well, if you're like me, when I began my publisher journey, I didn't have a pile of businesses I could make warm calls to because I moved 1200 miles away from my sphere of influence. I started my publisher journey not long after moving to Fort Myers Beach, florida. I knew no one had zero prior business relationships in that local market. I truly had no warm call I could make, except maybe the dentist who had recently done a teeth cleaning job on my pearly off whites. So I made those cold calls. There was no nurturing, no water, sun or fertilizer, just a lot of prayers and hope. My cold calls led to scheduled appointments. Yep, I booked a lot of appointments because cold calling does work Kinda. But here's where the train went off the rails. I expected that business owners would show up for their appointment. Even more I wanted them to show up excited about their appointment. I mean I was Well, yeah, I'm sure you know how that went.
Speaker 1:
After two weeks of tortures, cold calling and many, many no shows, I reached my breaking point. I had enough of the cold calling madness. Something had to change. The question I kept asking myself. One how could I turn my cold calls into warm calls to get easy appointments with quality businesses? Number two how could I make that appointment with me so compelling that the business owner actually looked forward to meeting with me, thereby reducing my no shows to virtually zero? Now, you may already know about the adjustment I made. The answer to those two questions brought me to the creation of the Good Neighbor Podcast and what has since morphed into the MyPublisher CRM system.
Speaker 1:
Now, there's no magic to the podcast and of course, there are many ways to give value first, which is the fundamental strategy behind the podcast. So don't discount this strategy if you're not the podcast type. But what's really happening here? Think about it. You're nurturing the seeds you've planted Instead of harvesting before your lead is ready. You know, cold call straight to the magazine presentation appointment. You're providing the water, the sun and fertilizer first. You're building trust. You're elevating your status from ad salesperson to marketing authority. You're making multiple positive impressions on that business owner and those positive impressions will go a long way to a yes when it's decision time to advertise in your magazine.
Speaker 1:
Think about it as a publisher. We educate our prospects, the local business owner, on the importance of branding. How often do you say to that prospect that branding takes time and the more impressions that a business makes on their target audience, the better the results. Is our publishing business any different? Shouldn't we follow our own advice Now? Every day I see some great social media posts from publishers and those impressions do make an impact. But even if you're paying LinkedIn or Facebook to share your posts with your target audience, it's difficult to convert leads into appointments straight from social media. So what's the answer? Well, there are two pools you need to swim in. One is the get quality, warm appointments pool, and the other is keep past prospects in your waiting pool, all right. So let's dive into pool number one here getting quality, warm appointments. Now this comes back to our foundation Give value first.
Speaker 1:
Now, what can you offer to local businesses that has a high perceived value but doesn't cost you anything or very little? Now, the best way to accomplish this is via a lead magnet. What's a lead magnet? It's something that attracts your ideal customer and converts them into an appointment. I use the Good Neighbor podcast. For me, it checked all the boxes Easy quality, yeses, high perceived value, the cost of doing the podcast on their own, $350 or more. Magazine appointment conversion, elevated authority, pre-qualifying yeah, I got to meet these business owners and really get a feel for not if they were quality, prospect or not. For my magazine, it was more what's the best fit for them in my magazine. And an added bonus, every single podcast was delivering one to two warm referrals. Now again, podcast isn't the only way. It isn't the only lead magnet on the planet.
Speaker 1:
There are many, many ways you could give your book away. If you have a book, your PDF of the book or a Kindle version. You could create a special local business group, whether that's in person or online. You could create a local business directory. In a previous episode, I shared how to put your prospecting drop-in on steroids and I covered using your iPhone to promote that local business and local businesses In testimonials and reviews. You could visit a business and do a write-up or a video. You could promote their business on social media. I mean, there's so many different things you can do.
Speaker 1:
All right, let's dive into the second pool, the waiting pool. How do we keep past prospects in your waiting pool? Now, the majority of my goodness for podcast prospects did not initially turn into clients, regardless of which lead magnet slash, give value first strategy you use, that'll be the case. But I was able to eclipse, annualize one million dollars in sales every single year. I was a publisher because my average sales were larger and for longer periods because of the relationship I had established with the business owner. And it all started with the podcast. And, yes, even with minimal follow up, I was able to extract six figures in sales from those prospects who initially said no.
Speaker 1:
So what do we do with all those no's, all that goodwill, time and energy you put into acquiring them, even if it's via cold calls? Right, that's a lot of time and energy. We don't want to lose them. A no today doesn't mean a no tomorrow. Nothing's worse than having one of your prospects tell you oh Charlie, I signed up with another publisher last week. If only you'd stop by sooner.
Speaker 1:
Now note it's not your prospects job to remember you and all the wonderful benefits your magazine campaign offers. You need to follow up and do it timely. There's so much more money sitting in your list of prospects easily six figures. Now here are the two tricks to mining that goal. Trick number one knowing when to follow up. And this is the most important part Ready, write this down and actually following up.
Speaker 1:
You got to have a system and it's why I created the perpetual follow up system inside my publisher CRM. I know from my own experience, once my prospect list got heck just over a few dozen my follow up suffered and often didn't happen at all. And I used a system that told me when to follow up, but most times, yeah, I'd chicken out of making those calls. I wouldn't know what to say or I'd have those imaginary conversations in my head with the prospects that didn't end well. So, yeah, I avoided making those calls. Well, now my publisher CRM does all the follow up for publishers on time.
Speaker 1:
Now trick number two is keeping yourself front of mind. You don't ever want to let your prospects forget about you the best word I have to summarize all this is nurture. Continue to provide value as best you can. A simple email newsletter for me brought in over $130,000 during one year and I think I only did five or six of them that year. There are plenty of ways to stay front of mind. You could do educational webinars, networking events, giveaways, newsletters and actually, because of the success both myself and other publishers of doing an email newsletter, we've created a done for you newsletter system that gets sent monthly to all of our publishers prospects, so they stay front of mind without actually doing it. And actually this reminds me of a brilliant marketer had his own insurance agency and he would get tickets to the local ballgame or movie tickets or just fun inexpensive giveaways, and he'd put out an email to his list or he'd put a post on social media. It was kind of like the radio giveaway the six person that replies or the first person that replies gets the tickets too, and then he'd follow up in his newsletter with who won the tickets. It was really a lot of fun and the cool part is it got engagement on social media, which is really important to get that exposure, and his email open rate skyrocketed and it was awesome Goodwill.
Speaker 1:
So neat little trick there. You might want to try it. I have some fun with that, all right? Well, that'll do it for this episode. Go ahead and leave your questions or comments. I'll cover those in a future episode and if you like this show, please remember to like it and leave a review. Some more people can find us. All right, I'll see you next time.
