Sitting on a 3-legged chair

I was presenting at my business intensive the other week when out of nowhere, one of my mentees was sprawled all over the floor looking like a contortionist.

When he got up smiling, we soon realized that in fact, it was the chair that was worse for wear…  it was now missing a leg.

And just like that, the base of support was ruined and this chair was getting tossed in the bin.

But you might be wondering why I’m telling you this.

Well, it’s because many of us — unknowingly and definitely unintentionally — treat our prospects the same way…

We expect them to sit on a chair with one leg missing.

Which of course, is no fun for anyone, and it’s why it should come as no surprise when most of the addressable market doesn’t ‘take a seat’ and become a customer.

Let me explain.

At its core, marketing can be broken down into 4 ‘legs’, and if your prospect is going to bond with you, all four legs need to have a stable footing.

Want to know what they are? Chances are, you probably already know at least three of them.

1. Your offer needs to be underpinned by a big idea; a compelling and visceral motivation for your product/service to be in the market that serves a real market need and addresses a real market problem.

2. It needs to be laced with dimensionalized benefits — providing the prospect with physical, emotional, and psychosocial upside that outweighs the cost.

3. It needs to be obvious how it differentiates — because if it doesn’t stand out, it’s getting drowned out.

But the fourth?

Well, this is the missing piece for most.

The fourth leg of marketing…

Is appeal.

Appeal answers the following questions in your prospect’s mind:

Can you be trusted?

Can you be liked?

Do you deserve my attention?

And it’s these three questions that so regularly go unanswered in your prospect’s minds and it’s almost certainly why they don’t act.  

Without appeal and affinity toward you, the game is already over.

So what to do about this conundrum?

Well, let’s pull out the ol’ Likert scale and assess yourself on the following 4 questions, rating yourself out of 5 (5 being you’re nailing it).

1. How relatable am I?

2. How do I establish trust?

3. How do I foster dialogue?

4. How do I demonstrate empathy?

Get over 16?

In that case, you probably are reading this knowing you are rocking your marketing.

Less than that?

You have an opportunity to put your chair back together.

See, before prospects BUY, prospects BOND.

Case in point:

I was on a call yesterday with a new mentee who casually said:

“I listen to every podcast, read everything you write, and watch everything you say. I kinda felt like you were my mentor already.”

That’s what bonding is. It’s relatability, familiarity, and trust BEFORE money ever exchanges hands. And for most, it’s THE missing ingredient in your marketing message.

Which is why I’m going to dive deep into it this month in the Alley-Oop.

And for those of you who subscribe, you are going to have strategies that harness the power of gravitational pull, so prospects feel connected with you — like they know you like a friend — well before you ever start working with them.

Wouldn’t that be a nice change from the norm, huh?

For the 100+ subscribers who are already on the list…strap in for a treat because this is going to be a goodie.

For everyone else, ask yourself this:

How many people could be working with me right now, if I made myself more relatable, trustworthy, and accessible because I knew what to say, how to say it, and how to act for the prospects who aren’t already in my ecosystem?

If the answer is more than 1 person then you’ve already covered the cost of subscribing by a significant margin… so it’s really just a choice as to whether you want to serve your prospects more meaningfully before they ever pay you, or if you’d prefer to wait until money changes hands to demonstrate you care.

Up to you.

Here’s the link if your mind already knows the former is the winning strategy:

– Karl Goodman

This was the million dollar question

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

That’s what our physio Justin said to me as we figured out what we’d do with his 20 hours of work way back in July of 2020.

For most of us, any mention of 2020 will send shivers down our spines.

But in this case, luck had been kind to both of us. 

Just two weeks prior to the first COVID lockdown where literally the whole world stopped, Justin had taken a permanent, part-time shift on a Saturday morning to provide some extra physio coverage.

There was no reason he needed to do this, but he wanted to help me out because I was in a pickle.

By the good graces of whomever/whatever you think is looking over us, this stroke of good fortune meant that he was eligible for Job Keeper – which guaranteed him 20 hours per week working for AA.

Instead of twiddling his thumbs, Justin, Lachy and our other physio at the time, Alan, spent the compulsory 3 months of gym closures putting together the most complete and ambitious ACL rehab framework that we’d ever heard of.

Every set & every rep.

Both on the gym and on the pitch.

Meticulously laid out in macro, meso and micro phases.

This ACL program accounted for everything you could possibly imagine.

Graft type… existing training age… sport… non-operative… brace-protocol…

No stone was left unturned.

By the time it was done — some 500 hours later — it was seriously epic.

So when we were allowed to reopen 3 months later, we were able to attract 5 or so ACL athletes into our training schedule, which we called ‘Rehab Gym.’

I then put my business brain together to optimise the business model and ramp up marketing for it, and before long, some 6 months later, the 5 rehab athletes had become 50, and Justin had a full-time job.

And as I write this – exactly two and a half years later – we’ve now got over 120 athletes in our rehab program where great athlete results come as standard.

And while we’d never be so bold to say it, others have called our program:

“The Gold Standard.”

One of the convenient, yet unexpected bonuses of producing a rehab model like ours is that it completely transformed our whole business.

When Justin asked that simple question, we would ultimately take a 600k turnover gym and gross over 3.5 million some 2.5 years later.

And while there was definitely risk involved in rolling it out – the worst-case scenario ended up being something most of us would only ever dream of.

Looking back… It’s crazy to think that one decision like a systematic framework for rehabbing the ACL… could play such a pivotal role in our success.

And if we’re entirely honest… we still sometimes pinch ourselves just to make sure it’s all real.

Now, with our rehab system humming like clockwork, we can now pay it forward, so you can achieve what has been so life-changing for us.

And given the amount of people that either DM us or Juzzy on how to do it, we know there is a lot of demand to get your hands on the system, straight from the horse’s mouth.

But here’s the deal.

Our 10-week ACL Mentorship is NOT for everyone.

– It’s not for the practitioner who wants to rub old people’s backs day in and day out, that might be your jam but it definitely ain’t ours.

– It’s not for the practitioner who thoroughly enjoys seeing 70 patients a week, having to do clinical notes on the weekend, and wants to be on a merry-go-round that never ends.

– And, it’s not for the practitioner who doesn’t want to have a stampede of athletes ready and waiting to work with you week in, week out, for 9 months at a time who will always be willing to pay.

Because what the ACL Mentorship WILL do is completely transform your business.

1. You’ll have more athletes than you’ll know what to do with (which means hiring more staff and expanding your bottom line).

2. You’ll have more fun (which means a better work culture).

3. And you’ll have more people shouting your name from the rooftops (because you’ll actually blow people’s expectations out of the water).

Now, of course, that kind of success is not for everyone.

In fact, it’s not for the vast majority of physios, practice owners, or S&C coaches.

It’s only for the people who know that there is a better model out there…

… But don’t know how to implement it seamlessly, effortlessly, and effectively…

The next ACL Mentorship intake starts in May.

And for context,  we sold out the last intake, and the two intakes before that, too.

And without doing any marketing, there are already 4/10 spots snapped up by 4 keen-bean practitioners who have been banging on our door to start.

So we thought that before time runs out (since we’re only running one a year from here on out), we’d give you the chance to be one of six more practice owners or serious practitioners who are just one rehab system away from completely transforming their bottom line, staff culture, and clientelle they work with.

Because keep in mind, this system only really works with athletes. 

Sound like something you’re interested in?

Apply at the link below.

Justin will be in touch to see if it’s a good fit for where you’re at.

– Karl Goodman

When your name becomes an action/verb

A previous CIP attendee, Brad, sent me this feel-good message on Friday via IG:

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I had to tell you this mate.

Just had one of my physios sell a spot to our sports rehab program to an existing client and said she “used the Karl Goodman” to make the sale.

After coming back from CIP, I tried to the best of my ability to reteach everything you had delivered on sales to my staff. She said the client had some reservations initially but got into her world, outlined the options, confidently sold our process (now it’s up and running all staff genuinely believes in how good the value is), requested the sale. And shut. The. Fuck. Up.

That sale worth approx $6500 to us. CIP cost me about $3000, I can’t even remember.

2 things.

Thank you.

And just wanted you to know that “Karl Goodman” is now being used in our clinic as an action/verb 

Feel free whack this in the last part of the afternoon of the CIP today if you’re still presenting. 

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Unfortunately, I only saw this after the CIP ended, so I didn’t get to use this as a cool talking point, but I’m going to assume that if it was OK for me to share it at the CIP, he’s OK with me mentioning it here, too.

Here’s why:

A system for sales is one of the highest ROI opportunities that exists in your business right now.

The only reason this wouldn’t be true is if you’re already converting cold leads on high ticket (6k+) packages like clockwork.

Which will be some of you but certainly not all of you.

Not only do more effective sales conversations change your bottom line, but more importantly, they help the prospects and patients that would otherwise not have the self-belief, self-confidence or personal conviction to take action with you and your team, despite your best intentions.

I’m sure we’ve all got examples of that we can recall.

See, having an effective sales conversation isn’t for the person who comes already sold; it’s for the person who genuinely struggles to take action.

Becoming effective at sales is for the stuck people…

Not the self-motivated, go-get-em types whose response to just about everything is “f*ck it, let’s do it.”

You don’t need to be effective for the latter scenario, but you do for the former.

And that there, ladies and gents, is where the opportunity is.

Speaking of opportunity…

There are now just two days left to subscribe to this month’s edition of the Alley-Oop, before my sales system for coaches, clinic, and gym owners go to print and your chance to get it in your hands evaporates.

Because once I print it, I have no idea when I’ll share it again, outside of when I teach it at the CIP which is now $4000 a ticket.

If you’ve ever wanted to help you (or your team) have confidence and conviction when selling high-value packages that are either high-priced or long in duration than this is the month you want to start your subscription.

Here’s the link:

– Karl Goodman

Apple Fired Steve?

A lot of us don’t know this story.

In 1985, the guy Steve hired to be the CEO of Apple (who came from Pepsi) ended up staging a coup that got him fired.

Which, in hindsight, seems bizarre given what we know Jobs would go on to do.

But according to legend, there was a growing sentiment amongst the staff that Jobs’ was too autocratic.

He lacked compassion, was exacting, and expected the highest standards that were most considered unreasonable.

Of that, I have no doubt.

But in response to his nature, the white-collar board of directors coordinated, behind his back, to oust him from the very same company he founded.

And they succeeded.

That day in 1985, those loyal to Jobs said: “It was the day Apple lost its soul and became just another computer company.”

In the decade to follow, Jobs’ founded NeXT and moved forward with his vision of building high-end computers, while Apple drifted into insignificance.

And it wasn’t until Apple tanked on the stock market and things were looking rough for the flailing computer company (we’d later find out Jobs’ was the one who sold the stock and caused the crash), did they fire their CEO and ask Jobs to take back the helm.

He agreed, selling NeXT to Apple for a sweet 400+ million in the process, and would go on to take what was then the laughing stock of computer companies and turn it into a behemoth that would change the world.

Sculley, who ousted Jobs in ’85, would later admit upon his return: “I was too inexperienced to appreciate him as a visionary”.

I suspect that it would have taken some reflection to admit that.

This brings me to my point.

There is no characteristic more critical to the business owner than Vision.

Without it, even great companies — like Apple — can falter.

When growth occurs without direction, it is like planting a hedge without the intention to prune it.

Eventually, the hedge will no longer look like a hedge, and the curated privacy screen you originally intended will turn into an unsightly and unkempt mess.

This is why I recommend that it’s a safe bet to return to your vision and start there whenever you’re feeling lost.

I asked this of my mentees last week when during our intensive, and I’d ask the same of you:

What purpose does your business serve?

Where are your boundaries so you know when growth needs to be replaced with consolidation, pruning and optimisation?

If you could run your business without any constraints, what would that business look like?

Hard questions to answer — but that is the point.

– Karl Goodman

Why Most Of Us Get Sales Arse Backwards

Have you ever wondered why coaches, gym and clinic owners become the target for so many paid sales courses on the interwebs?

It’s mostly because we’re suckers for it.

Unlike people who sell cars, houses, or products at a retail shop, we are ‘selling’ a service.

And because of that, we have to learn how to navigate the apparent dichotomy between selling some ‘thing’, and serving some ‘one’.

For many of us, navigating this doesn’t come naturally.

So the moment some goo-roo offers a whiz-bang sales system that can sell ice to the eskimo’s even if they object to it, our primitive brain pays attention because deep down, we don’t really know what we’re doing.

But these sleazy sales tactics that prey on the primitive parts of our brain are going out of fashion.

In our post-truth world where no one believes what they hear anymore, we’re craving a more genuine, honest and authentic approach to sales.

An approach that positions the seller as an advisor, not an adversary.

An approach that makes the prospect feel heard and understood, not a piece of meat getting served a sales script.

And an approach that honours the old adage: “You’ve got two ears, and one mouth.”

The greatest sales people of all time, in every industry, share a core characteristic. Want to know what it is?

They ask great questions.

Great questions allow the seller to gather, analyse and diagnose problems.

Not only do they involve the prospect in the process, they make them feel like their ideas, comments and concerns are respected and valid.

And most importantly, great questions provide internal persuasion and pressure, rather than the opposite where you come across as pushy.

Doctors, Psychiatrists and Barristers have been using questions to move the agenda forward for hundreds of years.

Questions don’t just uncover pain.

They reveal consequences.

And once consequences are revealed, value is created.

This new, more authentic approach to selling is the focus of this month’s Alley-Oop Newsletter, which I’m going to be putting pen-to-paper on tomorrow. It will ship in a few days.

If you’ve ever wanted to sell effortlessly, without ever selling, this could very well be the most important edition you ever read.

Want to know why?

Consider this:

Let’s say you generate $100k in revenue per year.

And after you read this edition, you improve your sales by converting an extra 20% of prospects, year on year.

Have you ever thought about what the effect of 20% improved sales is, over the course of a 30 year career?

20% growth year on year would mean you generate over 20 million dollars by year 30.

That’s wild, huh?

Compare that to ignoring this email and never applying the framework; and the 100k you earn right now, will remain 100k in 30 years time (assuming no inflation).

The difference in the end result, over a long-enough time horizon, is life changing.

So for those that want to take the plunge and quickly upgrade their sales understanding simply by knowing what questions to ask, you can sign up below:

And for those that don’t think they need it?

You could ask yourself this:

“If I were to speak to a stranger — the coldest of cold leads — how easy would it be to make the sale, assuming they actually had an interest in my service?”

If the answer isn’t a piece of cake, then hit the link below, because this month’s edition is going to be a game-changer for you:

– Karl Goodman

You Gotta Abandon This Sales Myth

I got this question a while ago from one of the subscribers, which I suspect is on almost everyone’s mind:

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How do I know what the right balance is between asking for a sale and making content? I notice you put a CTA [call to action for those not familiar with the acronym] in almost every email you do. Should I be doing the same? I just worry that I’m going to piss people off.

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Short answer is, the more you sell, the more money you make. This has been true even before economics was a thing. 

Now before you get your knickers in a knot and worry I’m some cold-hearted evil capitalist, hear me out:

Selling is platform dependent.

You’ll notice we  almost never sell on social platforms — this is certainly true for organic.

That’s because we treat socials like we treat mates going for a night out — no one likes that one moron who’s pitching Isagenix to everyone who will lend an ear.

Same goes for socials — if you want them to stink, sell to your audience there.

But when it comes to your website? Email? Phone?

You’ve got to apply a more traditional direct sales approach.

Which starts with understanding this:

Don’t project your own sales hang-ups on your prospect. 

They don’t know, or need, your baggage.

Because in the real world, genuine prospects WANT TO BUY. They are on your website or list for a reason. 

Others, just loiter.

No word of a lie: there are a few hundred people on my list who open and read everything I write, but will probably never make an investment because they think they’ll get everything they could ever possibly need from these soft-form lessons I teach here.

And while I personally think they’re like that semi-awkward person at a party just lurking around bopping to the beat by themselves, they’re harmless. In fact, by their standards, they might be having fun. Which is all that matters.

And then you have the whiners and complainers.

I just point them to the unsubscribe.

At the end of the day, it’s on YOU to decide who you want to focus on.

If you want to speak to people who buy things, then stop worrying about the whingers and write to the buyers.

Which means, give them something to buy.

That doesn’t mean endless pitching.

Your websites should inform, and your emails should educate. Everything you do should have a take-home lesson.

But there is no perfect ‘balance’ to this. It’s just like that push:pull ratio that we were all brainwashed with — it just doesn’t exist.

In my experience, great emails have both lessons, and they have opportunities to consume.

The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.

You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to better understand where your prospects are at with their own buying journey.

Over time, your lessons will seamlessly blend in with your CTAs. 

Like this:

If you want a solution for selling that completely turns heavy pitching on its head, so instead of pushy sales tactics, your prospects are drawn to you like a magnet, you’ll want to subscribe to this month’s edition before it goes to print.

Here’s the link:

– Karl Goodman