As an owner of IMPACT, Marcus Sheridan has established one of the country’s most successful digital sales and marketing agencies. He is the author of the international best-seller They Ask, You Answer… His new book is called Endless Customers: A Proven System to Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Become the Market Leader.

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The Learning Leader Show

  • The 4 Pillars of a Known and Trusted Brand:
    • Say what others won’t say
    • Show what others won’t show
    • Sell how others won’t sell
    • Be More Human than others are willing to be
  • 75% of all buyers prefer a seller-free sales experience. Create great self-service tools to help your buyers make buying decisions.
  • The buyer’s journey – They want to know what it will cost. So, tell them.
  • Have a client story for every objection. Collect them. Tell those stories.
  • The story of Steve Sheinkopf and Yale Appliance… ($37m to over $100m).
    • “That means obsessing over their questions, fears, worries, and concerns. Answer every single question honestly and transparently, right there on your website, for everyone to see.”
  • “Tackle topics your competitors are afraid to touch. Break the unwritten rules of your industry. When you focus solely on empowering your buyers with the information and experience they crave, something incredible will happen: You’ll earn their trust. And when you earn their trust, you earn their business. Do this consistently, and you’ll capture the market’s attention, transform your company, and see numbers you never imagined.”
  • The 5 Components of Endless Customers:
    • The Right Content
    • The Right Website
    • The Right Sales Activity
    • The Rich Technology
    • The Right Culture of Performance
  • Path Finders – Help others come up with solutions. Your favorite mentor didn’t tell you the answers, they helped you figure it out on your own (by asking you questions).
  • The #1 thing that will dictate your income is your ability to communicate. As Morgan Housel would say, “Best story wins.” It is worth it to work on this skill. The excuse that you don’t have enough time is lame and not true. Focus on becoming a better writer and speaker. It’s too important not to.
    • Piece of feedback most often given – Say that, but in half the words. Be concise.
  • Be willing to say what others won’t. And the idea of going direct. Go Direct – Viral essay written by LuLu Cheng Meservey. Going direct means crafting and telling your own story, without being dependent on intermediaries.
  • Marcus called me by my name (both Hawk and Ryan) a lot during our conversation. It felt natural and flowed well. It worked. This is taught in sales training and can feel manipulative if not done well. Listen to how Marcus used my name enough to make me feel special, but not too much that it felt like a sales tactic to get me to like him.
  • Book title = “I want. I wish.” I want Atomic Habits. I wish I had “Endless Customers.”
  • Apply to be part of my Learning Leader Circle
Resources:

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins — How To Go From Good To Great

Episode #300: AJ & Keith Hawk – How To Instill Work Ethic & Curiosity In Your Children

Episode #303: General Stanley McChrystal – The New Definition Of Leadership

Time Stamps

1:07 The story of Steve Shinoff and Yale Appliance

4:55 Applying these principles to B2B businesses

7:09 Self-service tools and letting customers choose their sales rep

10:23 Do customers want more steps in the buying process?

13:01 The power of pricing estimators as self-service tools

16:24 Marcus’s storytelling ability and communication skills

19:13 Why most leaders lack strong communication training

21:12 Communication as the foundation of success

23:06 The power of asking specific questions

25:23 Helping others discover solutions themselves

28:23 Pathfinders and different communication styles

31:29 Using names authentically in conversation

37:46 The importance of role-playing in sales training

41:16 The value of follow-up questions in conversations

44:26 The “pushback pivot” technique for handling objections

48:33 Building a known and trusted brand in the age of AI

51:31 Why you should “go direct” in your communication

55:59 The “I want, I wish” test for book titles