I put up a post on Instagram and while it didn’t receive any awards or anything, I personally believe it’s the best post I’ve ever done. If you follow me on the ‘Gram and already saw it, I’m going to graciously ask for another few moments of your attention before you close this email. If you don’t follow me over there, well, what are you waiting for?

On a recent Maestro on the Mic Thursday shorty podcast episode I spoke about how I recently lost my 2020 intention bracelet that my mentor’s daughter made for me. The whole point of the story was that I felt I had lived up to 2020 word, which was “BOLD” and that to me, losing that bracelet meant that it was time for a new bracelet and a new word. The ever-incredible Dr. Melissa Woo slid into my DMs a few days later and said, “Your bracelet should say LEAD, because you have risen to be a leader in our field, a lot of people follow you closely and trust you enough to implement your advice in the careers and lives.”

I was floored. I was humbled. I was honored. I was inspired. And I knew she was right.

I immediately texted my mentor and commissioned another bracelet, and while I knew it would be some time before it arrived, I decided to begin living that word, immediately.

Fast forward to yesterday and my best post ever.

To me, a large part of being a leader is simply taking responsibility for your actions and being willing to say, “Yeah, I said/did/believe that.” That’s exactly what I did with yesterday’s post, and that is why I consider it to be my best post ever.

The caption for said post is pretty lengthy (yes, I included the entire thing below) so I’m gonna wrap up this portion of this email here, but suffice to say that when it comes to marketing, and sales, and pretty much business on the whole, I have some opinions that contradict what’s so often preached and pedaled, and I’m ready to speak up, stand up, and lead.

For those who haven’t seen it, or who just want to read it again, here’s my best post ever:

Transparency is scary, I get it.

I know that last part about not displaying your prices is probably going to trigger some people, and I promise, that is not my intent with posting it. I post because I am passionate about something, not because I want to be polarizing.

Yes, traditional marketing approaches for online business will tell us that when you display your prices out right you scare people away and don’t give them the opportunity to engage with you and see just how wonderful your stuff is and how you could truly help them. I think that is a broken model.

If folks are in a place where they decide based on price/cost, I’m not one to try and change their internal value system with a sales call or long copy on a sales page. PS – They’re gonna bring that value system into your relationship and likely base their results on that.

How about we offer different things (doesn’t have to be a million things), at different prices, so that people can choose what they’re ready for, get results, gain confidence in you, and then buy the more expensive stuff (if they want) later on?

I’ve always hated having to dig on someone’s website to find the price. Just tell me and let me decide. If you’ve already built trust, and if I need that thing, I’m going to buy it.

Yes, I realize that not everyone is like that, BUT, I would contend that there are more folks like this than you’d realize, and we shoot ourselves in the foot and perpetuate a flawed model by not being transparent from minute one and simply letting people decide things for themselves.

No, you may not make the sale right now, but if you keep showing up and providing value in some way, if you stay connected, if you build that community, you’ll make the sale later, when that person is ready.

I call this second-chance selling, and it’s something I’ve been thinking a TON about. It’s slow going at first, but the people who do buy are loyal, committed, and most importantly, READY, and will spread your message farther and faster than you ever could.

Alright, this is getting long. Thank you for letting me share my two pennies with you on this Tuesday. Have a great day, fam! #Maestrofied

It’s time for a change, friends. It’s time to break the wheel. It’s time to LEAD.

Cheers to new words.
Maestro out.