Long before I started doing the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, there was the I Love Marketing Podcast with Joe Polish…
And one of the most popular episodes on I Love Marketing was always the “Yellow Pages Roulette” episode.
Whenever the yellow pages would arrive I’d text Joe… or he’d text me if it was his… we’d schedule a time to get on the phone... and then we’d play the game.
It would go like this: One of us would pick a number. Then, we’d turn to the page with that number... and... whatever business category was on that page, we’d brainstorm marketing ideas for it.
We’d talk about what we would do if it was us running that aquarium business, or that roofing business… or whatever business it happened to be on that page.
I always thought the reason people liked those episodes so much is because there's a sense of improv theater to it. We're flying without a net and listeners get an insight into how we think about business. And especially how we think about applying marketing to different businesses.
Then I thought to myself, the one thing that would make these episodes even better is if it was a real business we’re doing it with. So the owner could actually talk back to us. And we could “solve the case” in real time.
Because here’s the thing...
Doing this kind of “contentimonial" podcasts is not only fun and effortless for me as a host. It's also very educational for my listeners.
First, they hear what would be a legitimate live $2,500 consultation. But secondly, and more importantly, they get to vicariously learn through the experiences of business owners who are guests on the podcast… and have similar marketing problems as them. So, in a way, I’m already helping the listener without even working with them yet.
Now, some would say, “but I don’t want to give my best thing away for free.” To which I say…
You’re not giving anything away for free. In fact, you’re doing the opposite.
By demonstrating your ability to help people get REAL results… your prospects are convincing themselves that, “Yeah, Dean is the real deal. I wonder what he’d come up for my situation…”
… so that next time you say, “Whenever you’re ready, here’s three things I can help you with,” your prospects are more likely to come forward… and ask you to start working with them.