The 2hats Marketing Guild Begins February 17th

Beginning Friday, February 17th at Noon... 
The 2hats Marketing Guild

• Ready to develop your marketing plan?
• Want to work on your plan with a support team of 12 entrepreneurs?
• Would it help if the team was led by a professional business consultant?

...how about if it only cost $175?

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When: February 17th, February 24th, March 2nd, and March 9th

Time: Noon - 3pm
Where: 1808 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94703

New members also receive a free 60 minute private consultation with John, covering your specific marketing needs.

Course Details:
The Marketing Guild is led by John Van Dinther of 2hats Consulting. We are bringing together a dynamic group of up to 12 entrepreneurs who are looking to develop their marketing savvy.

Our first meeting will begin at 12:00 p.m. on February 17th (Friday). This three hour workshop will include presentations by John, hands on group exercises, networking breaks, and a chance to receive peer feedback and support.

We will then meet over the next three Fridays to support each other, brainstorm, and develop strong business relationships. Each participant will get a chance to present their marketing plan and get feedback from group members.

About an hour of each weekly session will include co-working, small groups of two or three people getting work done on our individual plans. John will visit the different groups, offering suggestions and making sure everyone is feeling productive.

Offering:
One hour personal coaching  session with John Van Dinther (Scheduled Individually)

Four group workshops (three-hours each):

• February 17th (Friday at Noon) - 1808 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94703
• February 24th (Friday at Noon) - 1808 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94703
• March 2nd (Friday at Noon) - 1808 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94703
• March 9th (Friday at Noon) - 1808 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94703

Fee: 
$175

“I recently participated in one of John's month-long mastermind groups, and I am so grateful. Previous to joining the group, my business was at a real impasse. I knew I had something of great value, I just didn't know how to share it with more people.

• John's expertise helped me break down my marketing process into actionable steps. 

• The group setting helped me see points I had been missing on my own. 

• In my private one-hour session, John masterfully guided me into, and helped unlock, personal obstacles that had been holding me back.

This group is a great deal.  If you have a product or service you believe in, this group can really help. John is both an expert and a man worthy of trust — such a valuable asset for anyone working on their business. Less than a week after our group ended I signed a new client, and I was asked to give a public talk about my work. I am grateful to know John, and to have had a spot in the 2hats MasterMind Group.I stand behind my recommendation for this group.” - James Riedy, January 2012

“I came to John's mastermind group with no clear idea of how to effectively plan for business success. That problem was solved in one session where John worked backwards from success and broke it into its constituent parts. Beyond that learning, what was really valuable to me was the chance to co-work and talk with other entrepreneurs who had struggles of their own, which made me feel better about my own weaknesses. Above all, having access to John for questions and guidance made the whole process really empowering. I finished the course feeling like I had the tools to achieve my goals.”  — Damian Sol, Composer

5 Tips That Turn A Sale Into An Opportunity

I hate pushy sales, so I always make sure a potential client is really interested, and it's so cool when they thank me for being persistent and for getting back to them. It's a nice way to open a sales call, being thanked :)

1. When I get a business card or contact information, I ask if it's o.k. to call, just to confirm.

2. I always ask, "When is a good time to call?" so they affirm it and they expect my call.

3. If I'm leaving a message ( I often don't leave messages since getting a person on the line is better) I make it clear that I don't want to trouble them, and to please let me know if they don't need my services.

4. I ask what people need, and then I shut up and listen. I get really clear about what they need. I've either got a solution or I don't, and that's all there is to that.

5. I ask what people believe they'll get from my services. If they can't answer that then why are we talking? A person needs to really be clear on what I can do for them, that's my job — to convey the opportunity effectively.

How San Francisco Service Entrepreneurs Are Surviving The Recession

There are 740,000 adults in San Francisco. I'm guessing you need to connect to about 400 of them in 2009. Now honestly, are there 400 adults in San Francisco who need your services? I think the answer is yes, and the reason you don't have their business right now is because you haven't called them yet.

Your success isn't about easy times or hard times. Like Woody Allen said, "80% of success is showing up." Success depends on your ability to get the word out and follow through. Think back to 2007. Nobody was pounding on your door back then either, you still had to bring it to them and close the sale. Before, they had to choose between you and a weekend in Vegas, now people are distressed about their 401(k) being down. Nothing has really changed for you as an entrepreneur.

Consider rising unemployment, creeping from about 4% at the end of 2007 to about 6% at the end of 2008. That means you can cut about 15,000 calls from your To-Do list, as they will be busy hustling for new work. Fine. That leaves 735,000 leads for you to call. Now obviously your target market is narrower than the employed population of San Francisco, but your gumption is the limiting factor, not outside forces. There is a sea of business out there.

How To Create A Leads List That Will Help You Reach Your Revenue Goals

A great tool for estimating your revenue goals is to set up a "Leads List" in a spreadsheet. List potential clients and the chances you believe you have of landing each one. This gives you an "Adjusted Estimated Revenue" from that client. In other words, if you expect $1,000 from a client, but you only have a 50% chance of landing the client, the "Adjusted Estimated Revenue" is $500 (1000 x .5 = 500). Obviously you will either be getting $1,000 or NO dollars from that client, but it's a VERY useful method of budgeting and setting goals.

Here's How It's Done:

1. Open up a new spreadsheet
2. Pick a financial goal for a period (Like $10,000 in January 2009)
3. Enter "Dates" in the 1st column
4. List clients in the "Source" column
5. Put what you expect that client to generate financially in "Potential Revenues"
6. Predict the % odds of getting that client in the "Adjustment" column
7. In the "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" column, multiply "Potential Revenues" by "Adjustment"
8. At the bottom right cell you add the "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" to get your expected income for the period

By adding up your "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" you have a pretty good idea of your take for that period. You'll get better at guessing the adjustment % as you use the tool and you can use the Google Docs revision tool to track how well you guessed.

Another great use is seeing if your income is wedged towards the end or the beginning of the month, which you can do by sorting the date column. (Tip of the hat to Sat for this recommendation)

As you contact clients you can change the "Adjustment" column % to reflect what happened.
If the client declines, change the result to 0%. If you will be talking more with the client, or they're thinking about it, change to a % that best reflects the situation. When you close, change your "Adjustment" % to 100%. This way you'll have an up to date "Best Estimation" of revenues.