I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint As I write this, I'm just about over jetlag from a big trip to LA. While I was there I was reflecting on the importance of storytelling in what we do as Natural Experts. As I tell the delegates in my Six-Figure Blueprint Intensive, your "Legend"--the tale of how you got to be in the business you are in--and why you started, is one of the key elements of a powerful Expert Presence. And there are six other tales that you need to be ready to tell, whether you're... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint As I write this, I'm just about over jetlag from a big trip to LA. While I was there I was reflecting on the importance of storytelling in what we do as Natural Experts. As I tell the delegates in my Six-Figure Blueprint Intensive, your "Legend"--the tale of how you got to be in the business you are in--and why you started, is one of the key elements of a powerful Expert Presence. And there are six other tales that you need to be ready to tell, whether you're... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint As I write this, I'm just about over jetlag from a big trip to LA. While I was there I was reflecting on the importance of storytelling in what we do as Natural Experts. As I tell the delegates in my Six-Figure Blueprint Intensive, your "Legend"--the tale of how you got to be in the business you are in--and why you started, is one of the key elements of a powerful Expert Presence. And there are six other tales that you need to be ready to tell, whether you're... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint In another of these videos I talk about stories that tell your reader or your listener about how you got to be where you are and do what you do. They are your "how I got here" stories, your legend. But I also said that they're not the only story you need to have in your little arsenal of teaching tools. The second type of story I want to tell you about is what I call a "who I am" story, or a VIA story. I call them VIA... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint I had an interesting conversation just now with a coach about The Six-Figure Blueprint. "Intellectually," he told me, "all this marketing stuff leaves me cold. It's not really for me." Now I'm not even going to go into the whys and wherefores of whether a business owner has to get comfortable with marketing--you've stayed with me this far, so I'm guessing you know you need to do it. But if you think the Six-Figure Blueprint is just about marketing then you've missed the trick. OK, so it's all "Six-figure... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint Success as a coach, consultant, trainer, or indeed in any profession where you are selling your knowledge, experience and advice, comes from your ability to position yourself at the top of your field. One of the key ways to do this is by writing. Even though society as a whole seems to be leaving the book behind, when it comes to choosing our "experts" we still hold authors in awe. So one of the key things I encourage all my clients to do is to write a book; a... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint The mistake a lot of professional coaches, consultants and trainers make is that their marketing is for them. In other words, their marketing is all about how great their product is, and why you should buy it. Their key measure of success--and therefore their focus--is the sales that come out of the marketing. Remember, though, that in previous emails I've said that Money follows Value, and that your conversations need to create value for your audience. Redirecting to actual pageredirecting tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNsfGWyF2vM Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint I want to talk to you about one of the changes that has done more than anything else to devalue generic "life" and "business" coaching. I've often heard it said that as coaches we live in the Information Economy, and we need to become information marketers, selling Information Products. Here's the thing though. People think the internet created the information economy. It didn't. People were selling information in books and newspapers and audio programmes and video programmes long before the Internet came on the scene. In fact, like most... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint How are you building your practice? You see, the coaching, consulting and professional advice industries have traditionally been built on two ways of getting clients. And I think BOTH of those models are broken. The first is what I call the "Journeyman" model. In mediaeval England a "journeyman" was a craftsman who was just starting out on their career and wanted to become a member of a guild. So the guild told them "study hard, practice - for free if necessary - take our exams and one day you... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com One of the things I discovered in reflecting on how I grew my coaching and consulting business is that I had unwittingly stumbled on what Jay Abraham--one of the most respected marketers in the world--calls the "Strategy of Pre-eminence". At the heart of everything I do is the simple principle of creating massive amounts of real value for your audience. That, more than anything else, is the key to creating a tribe around yourself and building a relationship with them. Traditional marketers say "find people who want whatever it... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com Today I want to talk about conversations. One of the key things I discovered while I was building my business was that the quality of the conversations you have will dictate the quality of your business results. To put it another way "clients = conversations" Think about it like this. Most of the coaches, consultants and trainers I speak to who are still struggling face one of four problems. 1. I can't get enough clients 2. I have enough clients, but I can't charge enough 3. I have enough... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com With everything that there is to do in building a strong platform and marketing your services, it's no surprise that one question I get asked a lot is "where do I start? I'm overwhelmed and I don't know what to do first." So where do you start? Redirecting to actual pageredirecting tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plsgCStRLjE Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com You're probably sick of being told you need to pick a niche. You need to focus on a particular set of clients and doing one thing for them. A lot of professional coaches, consultants and other experts are terrified of making the wrong choice, which is why one of the questions I get asked most often is "what niche should I pick?" Like there's some magic formula that will churn out an answer to the eternal question. I have to confess here I'm not a fan of niching, especially... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com So, you've created a blog, and you've got your accounts on facebook and twitter and linked in and youtube and all the other social media sites. Now what? In particular, how often should you be posting? Well, we're back to an idea I discuss in Video Number 5 -- should I be on twitter or facebook or whatever. You need to be strategic. That means you need to plan your posts ahead of time. You can add extra posts as things happen in your life, but have a schedule... Continue reading

I just uploaded a new video I think you'll enjoy http://thenaturalexpert.com If you're anything like me, you probably hate anything close to cold-calling—contacting total strangers or near-strangers to try to sell to them. And getting in front of anyone with any kind of status can be a nightmare. Especially if they have a secretary or an assistant or some other kind of gatekeeper whose job is to stop you and anyone like you getting to them. Luckily, the best way to get past a gatekeeper also happens to be the best way to position yourself as the natural expert in... Continue reading

Two sales men were sent from head office to Kuala Lumpur to set up a new sales office for Gillette. Within hours of landing the first one was on the phone back home. Continue reading

Back in my MBA days I remember being taught about price skimming. The idea was simple. When you launched a new product or service, you launched it at a premium price, let the early adopters pay that premium so you could recover your development costs fast, and then over time, as sales dropped, you dropped the price to the market rate. On the face of it, it's a really appealing strategy for experts launching innovative services: sell high, get a cash injection, and then let nature (and market forces) do their worst. There's only one problem. And it's probably one you can see instantly... Continue reading

Have you ever been told that "the money is in the list"? I hear it everywhere I go. And people fret over how many 10s or 100s of thousands of subscribers they have. If you've been worrying about how big yours is, then fear not: in the world of professional services marketing, size doesn't matter anywhere much as you think. There are people with lists of hundreds of thousands who are running out of cash, and people with only a few thousands of subscribers who have a fantastic business. It's not how big it is that matters, but what you do with it. And yes, this is starting to sound like a Benny Hill routine :) But here's the thing. Continue reading

It was Isaac Newton who famously declared that he was "standing on the shoulders of giants", referring to the fact that all his knowledge was a development of ideas that other, greater, people had developed before him. In that sense, it has a role to play in your positioning as an expert--however I think of it in a very different sense when it comes to running and growing your coaching, consulting or training business. Continue reading

As a coach, consultant or trainer, you can't afford to sell your time. Selling your life by the hour for an hourly rate is one of the biggest mistakes I see practitioners make when they market coaching, training or consulting. Think of it this way: if the next hour you work were also the last hour of your life, would it really only be worth whatever you're charging for it? Probably not. So watch this video to see what to do about it. Then head over to www.robcuesta.com/6figureblueprint to see me live Continue reading

Whether you're selling coaching, consulting or training, it's easy to make expensive mistakes when you are marketing. The secret to making sure you avoid those mistakes is to track the results of everything you do. You need to know exactly how much more you sell every time you do something to promote yourself as a coach, consultant or trainer. Watch this video for more. Continue reading

The coaching and consulting industry have traditionally been built on two ways of getting clients. And I think BOTH of those models are broken. Continue reading

Success as a coach, consultant, trainer, or indeed in any profession where you are selling your knowledge, experience and advice, comes from your ability to position yourself at the top of your field. One of the key ways to do this is by writing. Even though society as a whole seems to be leaving the book behind, when it comes to choosing our "experts" we still hold authors in awe. So one of the key things I encourage all my clients to do is to write a book; a physical book, not an ebook. It doesn't have to be War and Peace. I see a role for two kinds of books in building your business. I call them your "Expert Manifestos" (or should that be Manifestoes? anyway, I digress!) Continue reading

Unless you've been under a rock for the last few years, you've no doubt heard that we live in the "new economy" and that unless we adapt our marketing to it, we're doomed. Which of course is true. The only problem is, no-one seems too specific about what exactly this new economy is. Continue reading

About 13 years ago I bought a coffee maker. It was an espresso machine - you know the ones, just like you see in Starbucks, lots of steam coming out, lots of noise (mostly from you banging the old coffee grounds out of the holder). Most importantly for me, though, it was a machine from a "real" coffee maker brand: the people who make the coffee machines in Italian restaurants. Well, my espresso machine has finally been retired, and last week I bought a Nespresso machine. It's made by Magimix, the blender people. Not a name I'd associate with fine coffee. And yet... And yet... And yet... I feel so much better about the Nespresso purchase than when I bought the old machine. And it's not just about the fact it makes excellent coffee (and anyone who spends much time around me knows I *LOVE* my coffee). It's about the whole experience of opening up the box. When I bought my old espresso maker, it was about £140 ($210), and that was 13 years ago, so maybe it would be a £200/$300 coffee machine by today's standards. The Nespresso was £110/$175. It's a cheaper machine. So I had lower expectations... Continue reading