#sfblive 2017

I’m not one to get overly excited about events, unless of course, they are exceptional.

With that said, I’m glad to report that I’m over the moon about the recent Super Fast Business Live event held in March 2017 at the Novatel in Manly, NSW, Australia.

For those who I’ve spoken with since the event, they know I’ve been buzzing – saying over and over again, but one more time for good measure:- WOW.

Not only was this a content laden conference for marketers, it was flush with a feeling of true community – no-one person was more important than another – we were all made to feel special, welcome and included.

This was a 2 day internet marketing conference and all up there were 7 presenters – all high quality!

In fact, most presenters had the opportunity to give a different presentation on both days. I found this to be a nice balance between presenters and content.

Below outlines the itinerary for the event:

What was discussed:

• How to rapidly grow your team without the headaches most business owners suffer
• How to apply surveys effectively through your business to segment and get hyper responses
• Create a business that can be sold for a big profit because it has a recurring income and runs like a leveraged machine
• Run Facebook, Youtube and Adwords Campaigns like a world class professional
• Create streams of content with ease
• Produce your own show to harness the power of multimedia content
• Pair an APP to your business to leverage it with a very small outlay and massive benefit for your customers.

Thank you to all of the presenters including…

Everybody was very welcoming and willing to take some time out to talk and share ideas.

James Schramko and I taking a quick pic between breaks…

 Talking product launch formula, buckets and ASK formula with Ryan Levesque… 

Chatting with Andrew Lock about web tv and the future of video in the Novatel Foyer…

Here’s Ben Katzaman on stage talking about how to scale an eCommerce business…

What St Patrick’s day celebration would be complete without a St Patrick’s day tune?

Tom’s discussion on YouTube video was very good…thanks!

Ryan Levesque killing it front and centre…lots to learn from this gun marketer…thanks for sharing, Ryan!

Two of the industry leaders on stage…

Here’s the lucky winner of the $790 bottle of Grange…well done!… Question: do you actually drink a bottle of Grange?

Here’s yours truly doing his best tourist impression at Circular Quay:

Despite the blustery weather on day one, the Novatel Manly is a beautiful location for the event.

Seconds before the opening of round one!

James front and centre day one.

The technical support and systems were second to none, there were multiple camera’s, the sound was exceptional and I can’t wait to revisit the videos inside the SFB community.

Here’s where we all mixed and mingled during breaks – the food was exceptional – and I was strong – I stayed away from the sweets! [I really did!]

Ilana Wechsler – Google AdWords & Facebook Marketing – Gun! [greenarrowdigital.com] – Google Partner

As someone who is interested in both Google AdWords & Facebook Marketing, I was right into both of Ilana’s presentations.

Google AdWords and Facebook Marketing are no small topics, so it is difficult to really give too much detail here as it opens up more questions than anything.

That said, here are some of the points for your consideration from Ilana’s Google AdWords presentation:

• look to combine Google AdWords Search with Facebook  Ads
• use Google Display Ads for good results that are generally cheaper
• test Gmail Ads
• look at adsenseformobileapps.com to stop all mobile ad placements from showing
• look at freeadwordsscripts.com for existing scripts for use inside your Google AdWords account – use primarily for reporting purposes

Facebook presentation:

• Facebook targeting is better than Google’s targeting
• use lookalike audiences
• people share ads on Facebook
• make ads shareable on Facebook
• make your ads so they don’t look like ads
• make sure to install the Facebook pixel
• build and relationship with your audience by engaging with them i.e. reply to their comments
• promote all of your content with a small amount of money
• everyone is NOT your target audience – choose ONE target audience
• use VIDEO in your Facebook ads
• teach your Facebook Pixel WHAT YOU WANT
• Facebook’s Messenger App – enables you to have conversations – add as DESTINATION

One of my favourite and definitely most entertaining presenters by far, was Andrew Lock [helpmybusiness.com]

Andrew had initial talked about content aggregation, curation and syndication – a topic that is important to any online marketer

Here’s the top points from his first presentation:

• There are multiple ways for you to use technology and existing resources in your marketing to find, arrange and distribute content
• the five keys to creating content: STAY FRESH – BE RELEVANT – BE ENGAGING – BE HELPFUL – BE ENTERTAINING
• the last point – BE ENTERTAINING – was a theme throughout both of Andrew’s presentation and applies to all businesses
• being entertaining does not necessarily mean, although it can, be funny – for example: Andrew has a ‘What Were They Thinking?’ segment where he looks at funny signs in front of businesses and so on from across the world – example: “open 7 days a week [closed Saturday & Sunday]”
• people must KNOW YOU, LIKE YOU, TRUST YOU – before they will do business with you – video is a great way to help you achieve this
• VIDEO is big – look at your smart TV – it connects to the internet – web tv – sounds like NETFLIX because it is!
• web tv is also known as ‘podcasting’ which was a phrase coined by Apple
• people now spend more time watching videos than they do on social media
• the 5 “P’s” for creating videos: PLAN IT – PRODUCE IT – PUBLISH IT – PROMOTE IT – PROFIT FROM IT
• questions to ask yourself when preparing your show
  • what is the passion or business your show will be based around?
  • what attention grabbing name will you use for your show?
  • will you be the only presenter or will you do a duo with someone?
  • how long will each episode run for? 10 minutes / 20 / 30 – more? [Andrew recommends: 15 to 25 minutes maximum]
  • how often will your show run? daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly? what ever you choose – BE CONSISTENT – people will be let down if you don’t deliver consistently!
• when delivering your show, be your authentic self – easy to be yourself than to pretend to be something / someone you are not
• deliver around your strengths – if you are funny play to that – if you are knowledgeable play to that
• reveal personal information about you – connects you as a real person who has challenges just like everyone else
• applaud other people’s success and make them look good when appropriate
• consider spicing up your show by adding author / speaker interviews and book / video reviews
• do a DEEP DIVE SURVEY each month to your audience to stay relevant and to help you identify topics of interest to them
• the SUCCESS FORMULA for creating your own successful web show = ED + EN = Education + Entertainment = Engaged Viewers = Results
• types of content that you can use in your business:

Now, although all the shoulder rubbing was great – James made it abundantly clear that all of the information in the world is useless without implementation.

Thus, below I have summarised the biggest takeaway points delivered throughout the two days. Below that you will also find links to a number of resources and websites.

• have documented systems
• hire and develop your team now
• develop an asset list for when you sell
• small batches
• create standard operating procedures ‘SOP’s’
• have a NOAH’s Ark Policy – 2 of everything – don’t have a single point of failure for anything [including workers]
• create an INFINITY project that keeps your team busy when things are slow
• you don’t need to know HOW, you need to know WHO
• focus the team on 80:20 – the most comes out of few things you do
• aggregate [gather content], curate [compile that content] and syndicate [distribute that content over multiple channels for reach]
• “Pasalubong” [I think this is the correct spelling] – is Surprise in the Philippines – make sure if you are hiring, to give a Pasalubong to your workers
• Understand the POWER OF ONE MOVE – Richard Branson’s one move is to hire the number two in top businesses and give them a job in Virgin as the number 1.
• Become your mentor’s number 1 student

John Logar top points: “A Short Game Is A Good Game!” [did awesomely well for 15 minutes!]

• remember that the market is different to those outside of our industry – they will pay more
• attend industry functions and book calls
• know what the ONE THING is that you deliver the best and focus on developing that one thing
• your mobile phone is the most important tool you have – so use it
• stay relevant
• be clear about what you do
• know that there are literally billions of dollars available for the taking in the consulting space
• there is a digital marketing skills shortage that you can take advantage of right now
• teach online skills including direct response marketing

Ryan Levesque- Ask Method Formula ‘It Doesn’t Need To Be Perfect, It Just Needs To Get Going!’ – top points:

• The Goal: Better Sell & Better Serve = Better Results all round!
• Discover – Segment – Launch
• use Product Launch Formula videos to educate and inform – do not talk about your product in the PLF style videos as these are AWARENESS focussed videos
• use the 4 awareness vidoes to get your target audience saying “hey, this is for me, how do I get it?” – share a glimpse into what you can do for them
• There are only two places you need to CUSTOMISE your emails – in email / video 1 and the Open Cart emails / videos [you only need to change 10% of your bucket videos]
• set the frame for your target audience ie I understand and empathise with you – and I will be talking about your PAIN in the next few videos – keep an eye open for them [this triggers the viewers reticular activating system] and they will keep an eye open for your videos
• tailor your testimonials to the message / product / bucket – one size testimonials do not work – they must be specific to the offer
• highlight specific bonuses / benefits for each of your buckets [survey segments]
• open cart starts on Monday and ends Friday close of business – 5pm – prior sunday before opening cart, send out GET READY videos & EARLY BIRD OFFERS
  • Monday is for – fast action takes / quantity limited / scarcity [aimed at the SPONTANEOUS BUYER]
  • Tuesday is for – FAQ Buyers – list all of the questions and answers, terms and conditions, cost, length of time [aimed at the METHODICAL BUYER]
  • Wednesday is for – case study, success stories [one that appeals to each buyer type] [aimed at the HUMANISTIC BUYER]
  • Thursday is for – option to not send an email this day
  • Friday is for – deadlines, closing soon, going away soon, multiple buy now emails – and closing it for real [aimed at the COMPETITIVE BUYER]
• you must find out what your audience really wants – do not guess
• 1st discover – 2nd segment – 3rd launch
• focus on the hyper-responsive segment of your market
• depth of response is far more important that frequency of response
• do a word-cloud to identify language used in your market
• there are four main buckets – 1. JOURNEY 2. CHALLENGE 3. SITUATION 4. HYBRID Bucket
• there are four types of buyers – 1. SPONTANEOUS [will buy as soon as it is available] 2. METHODICAL [likes FAQ’s and detail, Webinars, Q&A] 3. HUMANISTIC [loves case studies, testimonials, human connection] 4. COMPETITIVE Buyers [competitive with absolutely everything]
• trick is to tailor your copy to each type of BUCKET and BUYER to have a message/market match
• focus on offering ONE THING
• addition by subtraction – less is in fact, more – be sure to split test

App Development with Jarrod Robinson – PE Geek…[Excellent Presentation]

• Apps do not need to be complicated – can do one thing e.g. show one pe move i.e. the triangle move
• match your app to the actual needs of your audience – don’t build one and hope there is a market
• apps can add value, be used as lead magnets, increase brand awareness, community app, content apps, video course apps, expert app, referral system app, app for promoting and selling live events – the potential is limited only by your imagination
• to work out which app to build, search the App Store to check out what your competitors are doing with their apps
• there are app templates available for around $1500 which can be re-purposed for use in your business
• pushplay notifications are ok but very linear – push notifications in apps can be far more useful
• multi-channel communication is the way of the future

Ecommerce – Scaling Up – Ben Katzaman – Another Informative Presentation With Actionable Content

• Have a lifestyle focus – work life balance is real and can be achieved by careful design
• be obsessed with the customer experience above and beyond everything else
• give back to society and the earth
• stand for something or you stand for nothing – polarising people is not necessarily a bad thing
• test different images in your advertising such as a cartoon version of your product
• have an abandon cart email sequence ‘we noticed you noticing us – what happened?’
• use branded # hashtags to track and engage with prospects and customers
• use surveys to get feedback from your clients
• consider using net promoter score
• attend live trade shows for real time feedback on your product or service – nothing more powerful than having a one-to-one conversation
• use Slack to manage multi-channel communication
• keep an open mind and make sure to keep learning
• have a look at Facebook Business to see what others are doing for inspiration

YouTube With TOM BREEZE – viewability.com and tombreeze.com top points:

• 1st impressions = 100% of your viewers experience with you – so make sure its positive
• aducation – educate in your videos be they pure video or ads
• good way to start aducation videos is “DID YOU KNOW?’ hard to ignore a question like this and creates open loops that humans need to close with answers
• use end screen ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ videos – at the end you can add two video windows that help your audience self select their interests thus helping you segment automatically
• use remarketing videos a maximum of three times – your ad will become spammy if you continue hammering your re-marketed audience – then promote different offers altogether
• currently if you are running YouTube ads that run less than 30 seconds, then if the viewer clicks on your link before 30 seconds – your click is free!
• a good length for your videos is between 2-3 minutes
• buzzsumo.com is a good source of information on popular topics impacting your audience
• know what your potential customers / clients are going through as early on as possible [join the conversation in their head as early as possible]
• Be there & be useful – how to do this: know something / do something / buy something and show it [un-boxing videos are popular]
• Communicate differently to different people i.e. window shoppers [just looking] vs in-store shoppers [research mode] vs checkout shoppers [ready to buy]
• with YouTube ads you can get in front of your audience when and where they are looking for you i.e. mobile device, location, demographics

Last but in no way the least – James Schramko – Opening Presentation & Building your business strong to sell it

Opening presentation:

• have an offer that converts – otherwise you don’t have a business
• hire now – don’t wait and have an infinity project like BLINK SURF
• have a NOAH’s ARK policy – two of absolutely everything
• create and maintain an ASSET LIST
• small batches to test work – usually used with team members to make sure they understand the expectations
• develop simple but effective STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES [SOP’s]
• use KANBAN process – DO / DOING / DONE
• have and maintain LEAD and LAG measures e.g cost per aquisition, membership churn
• have team report using simple RED ORANGE GREEN system – red = overcapacity do not ask me to do more – orange = running hot and green = have capacity
• you do NOT need to know HOW – you need to know WHO will do the work – not you at every possible point in your business – make yourself redundant
• don’t get good at the little stuff – be the eagle, not the turkey

When selling:

• create an ASSET LIST – this is what you sell if you are a purely online business
  • trademark
  • domain – purchase all version .net / .com / .com.au / .org
  • email list
  • app
  • documented systems
  • training videos
  • team goes with the sale – don’t just fire them!
• wear one hat – do one thing
• know your price if a buyer offered to buy it today – what’s your number?
• be ready to sell today for that number – make sure all of your assets are listed and up to date
• know if you are in a contracting or expanding marketing as this affects final sale price
• who can you sell to?
  • competitors
  • investors
  • complimentary offer – businesses that come before your product / service or after it
• use the multiples valuation method
• to increase the sale price create a SALES BOOK [similar to a pitch book or prospectus]
• have an impact – this is not always about money
• what will you sell – look for gaps in the market
• continual research and development – stay one step ahead of the pack
• use a lawyer in this process
• shake the tree
• keep the numbers private
• keep your commitment tail short post sale

Books mentioned during the event for you to read:

• Work The System – Sam Carpenter
• Build To Sell – author unknown
• Ask – Ryan Levesque
• 90 Day Year – Todd Hermann
• Apprenuer – author unknown

Website Links mentioned during the event for you to follow up:

appmatch.com – for getting your own apps built

greenarrowdigital.com – Google AdWords, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Marketing

helpmybusiness.com – Andrew Lock – check it out

podbean.com for free podcast hosting

patreon.com for podcasters funding

bucket.io – Ryan Levesque segmentation software

viewability.com – Tom Breeze agency

tombreeze.com – Tom Breeze personal page / YouTube

“Buckets Are The Future Of Online Marketing, And The Future Is Already Here”

Ryan Levesque

This was an epic post to put together – 2 days solid work went into it.

My two biggest takeaways:

1. Become Your Mentor’s #1 Student
2. Emulate Before Your Innovate

I hope you enjoyed this review of Super Fast Business Live 2017 – I’d love to hear your feedback and to talk with you about your business.

All the best!

Rick Nuske

PS: thanks for the cool Super Fast Business Sweater – blue next year, James? #sfblive

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