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I enjoyed this book. I’ll start with a quick disclaimer. I have seen Marcus Sheridan speak many times. He is an excellent, passionate speaker. This however, ruined the book a little for me, since i already knew his story and a majority of the case studies. The book is still excellent though. It provides an excellent framework and starting point for Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing. More about those in a bit…
The book starts with Marcus in his previous life as a “pool guy”. Marcus and a few partners owned River Spas and Pools. The pool company was struggling due to the economic conditions in 2008. At this time, Marcus dug into some articles from HubSpot regarding Inbound Marketing. He truly embraced the concept and then developed the “They Ask, You Answer” methodology.
The methodology is incredibly simple. Take any question a customer has ever asked you and answer it. Use blogs, info-graphics, video, etc. to become your industry’s expert. The goal is to be open, honest and transparent. You need to strive to become a teacher. This will build trust with your prospects and clients.
Marcus challenges you to also write about subjects that most companies stay away from, like problems and pricing. Again, giving you the opportunity to be completely honest and transparent with your clients and prospects. There are still very few companies who will list their pricing online. I understand the frustration of not being able to find pricing. I know for me, when I am searching online for tools, etc. if I don’t see pricing I will immediately move to the next site. Obviously your prospects are doing the same. Pricing will help you actually qualify your leads and waste less time talking to prospects who actually can’t afford your services.
I would definitely recommend reading this if you are a small business owner or a marketing professional. There are tremendous takeaways and learning opportunities for everyone. Obviously, you have to actually do the work. So get up and get after it. If you ready the book, drop us a line and let us know what you think. If you need a workshop done with your team, reach out to Marcus or George B. Thomas at The Sales Lion.
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