"I now understand why/how I've been self-sabotaging my own marketing efforts, I have broken through those blockages."Your Graduation Story
My Graduation Story – John Maskell
I learned about EPM in the closing hours on the last day of the promotion from a friend who phoned, gave me URL for the promotion and said simply – this is perfect for you. I watched about half the promotional video and then got on a chat with Coach Debra. I explained that I absolutely wanted to get in on the program; I didn’t have a credit card to use, I could send a money order for the first payment in a few days. Somehow she made it happen. Six days later I was in. I was starting from a year long drought in getting new customers into my business.
The first big challenge was catching up. After getting a sense of the whole program and deciding I wanted, I needed, to do everything , I started with Niche Down and Profits Up and by then I was already more than a week behind. My strategy became to create a one day in-person experience product to give myself a platform from which to upsell coaching products I’m already experienced and certified in. this one-day new product was set at a $497 price point. I tried some trial chatterbox and survey marketing. It did not go well. During the Christmas/New Year’s break I asked myself, “Why create a new experience product requiring myself to develop new knowledge and new virtual skills for which I hae little background in order to generate an upsell platform to market and sell experience products I already have. Why not use my new EPM knowledge and skills I’m developing to go straight to selling the experience products I already have.
So, in consultation with Coach Uwe I decided to pivot. I renamed my best, already existing, most enjoyable to deliver experience product, added some beginning and ending components for the marketing to make it a full 15 week program, changed the price point to $1,997 and pivoted to marketing the new name, “Frustration to Flourishing: Announcing The Inner Journey To Awesome”.
I found this a very exciting idea. I reviewed a lot of my learning to date and crafted a series of seven e-mail posts leading to a chatterbox call early in the campaign and/or a Discovery/Enrollment call later in the campaign. I also tripped over some marketing mind-fuck stuff – but I already knew that was to be expected so I just ploughed on. I conducted my campaign form January 20, 2020 for seven days. I sent my e-mails out to an e-mail list of 175 people anticipating that I would net 2-5 sales. One sale would net me to Mission Accomplished; three sales would get me past my target goal; five sales would get me to my stretch goal.
I launched full of enthusiasm in the wee hours of January 20th, so that everyone would have their first e-mail of the campaign on Monday morning. On the seventh day I stayed up until 3:00am – midnight PT. During the following seven days I received no opportunities for a chatterbox call and no requests for a discovery call. I ended the campaign empty handed.
The next morning I had a dream. In this dream I was at a very large conference – way more than a thousand people and meals were accommodated in two sittings. My partner and I were in the first sitting and placed at a table of 8 with a family of two parents and four kids. Something strange happened with the kids meals, the family of six disappeared and my partner and I were postponed to the second sitting. In the second sitting it came to light that the special diet meals we had pre-ordered had been thrown in the garbage by the kitchen staff when they were not claimed by the wait staff in the first sitting. The head waiter was called and I made all kinds of suggestions, but none of them fitted with what was currently available in the kitchen. The Maitre d’ was called and was full of explanations and apologies. He explained that his entire staff was super busy, the kitchen would have to send out for special food and asked, if we could just wait until after the mealtime was finished and he would personally make it up to me. With that promise, the dream faded.
I lay silently reflecting and feeling like the experience of the dream is mirroring my experience of the ending of EPM. The multiple special meals I’ve been designing and ordering are postponed until after mealtime, AND when they arrive they’ll be better than I can imagine.
Rather than feeling let-down at the end of the campaign, I examined my campaign carefully to ask myself where I had “mis-cued”. I immediately started calling the people I knew best to discover, in their view, what had not connected with my campaign. I approached four new people who had not been in my campaign in an attempt to salvage at least one sale. I generated several new ideas for different approaches and/or new products I could generate with all the new EPM knowledge and skills I now have.
By midnight PT, January 31st, 2020, I have no sales. I have filed 192 XPs and 96 XXXPs, but no sales. I have graduated
This EPM experience has changed my whole attitude to marketing and self-promotion. I have a new enthusiasm for marketing and sales. Up to this point in my ""business"" life, I have relied and depended on referral business and have done very little in the way of marketing and sales. I now understand why/how I've been sabotaging my own marketing efforts; I have broken through those blockages. I regard these ""breakthroughs"" as success even though I don't yet have money in hand. I find myself expecting to enjoy marketing and sales.
In fact, I find myself looking for the “MDNA” button … Mission Damn Near Accomplished.
Note:
The hard times make the good times better
AND
No matter how good things get ...
The Best is Yet to Come.
What is your biggest takeaway from EPM?
I have a new enthusiasm for Marketing and sales
How did EPM help you become successful?
I now understand why/how I've been self-sabotaging my own marketing efforts, I have broken through those blockages. The fact that I made zero sales preserved me from a "let down" that can happen when a campaign is finished. Instead, I immediately began examining the experience and I've had several insights of what I could do differently and several ideas of new product ideas I could put through the EPM process. I regard these "breakthroughs" as success even though I don't yet have money in hand.
How has EPM and your success impacted your life?
It has changed my whole attitude to marketing and self promotion. Up to this point in my "business" life, I have relied on, and depended on referral business and have done very little in the way of marketing and sales. I have been much more "responsive" to market opportunities than I have been proactive about creating them.
What has been the biggest change in your business?
ME! Things may not look greatly different from the outside so far - but looking at me from the inside, I really like the person I am becoming - and that's a result of the insights and enthusiasm shared by EPM, Marisa, Murray and Coaches Uwe and Don Crowther.
What are you most excited about moving forward with your Experience Product?
Marketing, creating, selling and delivering my existing and new Experience based products that feature me inspiring and training other people.