The Authority Builder Podcast

John Jantsch, author of best-seller Duct Tape Marketing and the new The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur , is passionate about helping small businesses market smarter and more effectively through a proven system based on strategies that get more leads and customers.   But in many ways, he starts with the basics.    First, creating a solid foundation for success by adopting a mindset of curiosity, resilie...

If there is one constant in digital marketing… it’s that what works is always changing. Lacy Boggs, content strategist and Director of The Content Direction Agency, says that sophisticated consumers, who quickly recognize marketing campaigns “in the wild” and make them less effective, have accelerated that trend.   That means lower conversion rates for traditional sales funnels, free webinars, and...

Ever feel like you don’t have enough time for follow up on the leads you generate? You’re not alone. Perhaps 70% of business owners feel the same way.    It’s understandable – you feel “stuck” in day to day operations, i.e. putting out fires.   But if you ever hope to grow your business beyond where it is now… you need to follow up… follow up relentlessly. This doesn’t mean bothering people… or an...

Most business owners spend about 20% of their time generating leads to grow the business. It’s a fraction of what you need.   As a business owner, it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day. Administrative tasks and the like. It keeps you busy, and you feel like you’ve accomplished something at the end of the day. But to propel real growth, you have to focus more on business development, speci...

You probably don’t need as many clients as you think to have a steadily growing business. You just need the right clients.    There is opportunity out there, even in this time of crisis. You just need to get a little creative in how you promote yourself and run your business. And focusing on the right subset of your target marketing and serving the people you really want to serve… that makes your...

This is an invitation for you to take a close look at your business: where you are now, where you want to go, and… how you’re going to get there.   Growth is rarely a straight line going up.    But you can give yourself a clearer path to success and sustainable profitability if you fine tune what you’re offering to your target market, who exactly that audience is – it’s much smaller than you think...

Robert Michon joins me today to talk about how to be resourceful, how to increase your confidence and restore some sense of control in life and business right now.

Collaborating with other businesspeople is a key to success as an entrepreneur. But if you’ve tried and failed to foster mutually beneficial relationships or started a partnership that you felt was too one-sided, you might be skeptical that collaboration can actually work.    But you just need a different approach. Traditional networking doesn’t always work. But there is a relatively new medium th...

One of the most effective ways to get more and better leads that you can turn into high-paying clients, says David Newman, founder of Do It! Marketing, is to talk to them. Well… it’s a bit more than that.   David is an expert in using public speaking to help consultants, professional service providers, and coaches build a more profitable business. It’s a way to showcase your expertise, spread your...

Well, here we are… Week 2 of the pandemic crisis (here in the U.S.). The question I’ve heard a lot this week is how do we market right now, in this strange environment. The answer… thoughtfully and carefully. And yes, you should keep marketing and selling, but it demands a different approach. I outline the three-step approach you should be taking right now in today’s episode. Listen now… -Steve P....

What a difference a week makes… The world has changed dramatically in a very short time. Like you, I’m working to understand it, adapt, and find the way forward. At the end of the day, that’s all there really is--a way forward. Today’s episode of the podcast is a little bit different. I’m joined by my friend and client Rick Hadrava, host of The Over 50 Entrepreneur podcast to discuss what we’re do...

Many business owners – perhaps you – are blissfully unaware that their marketing is confusing their best potential customers.    In the worst-case scenario, prospects aren’t sure what you actually do, what you can offer them, and how you’re different from your competition.   The solution isn’t to embrace the latest marketing “trick” or spend a bunch of money on ads. Those are just tools. Unless yo...

According to studies, viewers retain 95% of a message after seeing it in a video compared to 10% retention for text. Including a video on a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%.    It’s no surprise that Rick Cesari is big on video marketing. And he has the background…   He’s seen this tactic work first-hand during his work helping companies like George Foreman Grill, Sonicare toothbr...

Too many business owners look for the “next big thing” in marketing and sales, thinking that’s what they need to accelerate the growth of their business and take it to the next level.   The thing is… if you don’t have a solid foundation, the “next big thing” is not going to get the results you hope for. First you need to know your ideal prospect… and it’s not just anybody with a wallet.   Then you...

After 20 years as an entrepreneur, Thor Conklin has seen a lot. In his work with clients, this profitability consultant not only shares what you should be doing… but just as important, if not more so, is what you shouldn’t be doing.    A lot of what he teaches is based on mistakes he’s made and gleaned invaluable experience from. He’s on a mission to help companies avoid being one of the 96% that...

Happy Valentine’s Day! I got you a little something… I know, I know, but I couldn’t resist. I really hope you like it ;-) Last week, I interviewed one of the legends of marketing, and we got into a deep discussion about: How to make your marketing work (and what’s missing most of the time). Why the big tech companies are making it harder for small firms to market online. How to hedge your bets, wh...

When you narrow your target market – and we’re talking narrow – you’ll find that business growth is almost inevitable.    There’s an old saying: “Jack of all trades, master of none.” And it certainly applies when you pick your business’ niche.   If you’re worried that by focusing on your ideal clients you’ll be missing out on a lot of work potential work… realize that you can make more money servi...

Joseph Warren has been through a lot in his life. Extreme ups and downs were commonplace throughout his journey.    Many people give up when faced with tough times. Joseph chose not to. In fact, he turned the tables and used them to radically change his life… and then the lives of others… as he rediscovered his faith in God.   This spiritual coach helps people facing issues in their relationships,...

In the popular imagination, the entrepreneur is a risk-taker… ready to change directions on a whim.  But the key to growing a business that will be sustainable in the long-term depends on a deep understanding who your ideal prospects are – the more specific the better – and then creating a system to reach them.   For most business owners, the number of new clients they need each year is much lower...

When he lost his telecom job in the Dot-Com crash, Mike McKim was inspired to get in early in one of today’s hottest business trends: gourmet coffee.    When he started, coffee was coffee to most people. But now he roasts high quality beans sourced from the best plantations on the planet and sells them all over the country.   But being a pioneer wasn’t easy… far from it. What kept him going? Maybe...

You have your ideal client clearly identified – and you know how to reach them.    Now what?   Unless you have your company set up the right way, you can never take advantage of that knowledge to bring in enough new business. And that means slow or no growth.   A steady flow of sales opportunities to bring in steady – and growing revenue – will take your business to the next level… and it’s all ar...

Before his current success, Ted Thomas had some very tough times as an entrepreneur and investor. As in, he lost it all almost overnight.  Ted says he wouldn’t trade it because it showed him the dangers of being over-leveraged and tamed his tolerance for high-risk investments.   We talk about how he got into a real estate-focused business with very low-risk that has resulted in steady returns sinc...

What if landing your next 10, or 50, or 100 clients was inevitable? I just love that word… it’s as if achieving the goal has already happened. And that’s precisely the idea I talk about on today’s podcast. The idea of making your growth goals inevitable. See, I’ve been thinking about how to create a “system of inevitability” that would guarantee that you would have all the leads you need and that...

What makes a potential customer choose your product or service? Your marketing efforts tell your prospects you exist and you have solutions they’re looking for.    But many business owners focus on the wrong thing in their initial marketing because they don’t understand the mindset of a buyer. In fact, they go after too broad a group… instead of focusing on those who will actually pull out their w...

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of your business. But, says Gregory Gray, if you don’t think about the future and work towards it… all your efforts will be for nothing.    Because real sustainable growth can only happen if you’re clear on what you want and make an actual plan to get there… a plan that guides what you do on a daily basis.   Of course, that’s just part of the eq...