Common Marketing Myths Webinar

This 55 minute webinar was recorded in March 2015 with Sam Harrop and it's worth watching if you want to learn more about the common marketing myths, which could be holding you back from greatness.

Please enjoy

Tyson E. Franklin
tysonfranklin.com.au 

Moving Out Of Your Comfort Zone

I'll Never Move

Honestly, if someone had told me when I was leaving University that I would be living in Cairns, and loving it, I never would have believed them. I was so comfortable on the Gold Coast...I'll never move, but I did and it was the best decision I've ever made.

At the time though I was not so confident. I was basically forced into moving from the Gold Coast to Cairns due to a hand injury. Long story short, I couldn't work and after two years of sitting on my bum, I thought it was time to do a bit of traveling.

This lead me to Cairns and once I got settled, I thought I would stay for 12 months and just see what I thought of the place...anyway 23 years later I'm still here and I have zero regrets.

Stagnent 

Staying were you feel comfortable could be holding you back from amazing things. I know it's hard to leave friends and family, but if that's what you have to do...then do it.

I moved to Cairns apprehensively, and initially business was great because there was only one other Podiatrist in town when I arrived, so it wasn't hard to make a living, but today, some 20 + years later there are 13 podiatry clinics.

I could be complaining that there's too many podiatrist and wasting mental energy on how I can beat them, but instead I don't give them a second thought and use all my mental energy on how I can make my business better.

Safety Net

Could I have achieved the same success if I didn't leave the Gold Coast? Maybe, but if things really went pear shaped, I always had the safety net of being able to move back home. I didn't have this luxury in Cairns.

Sometimes you need to burn your bridges, so there's no way of turning back, and this commitment to the cause will pay dividends long term.

If you love where you live and you have no complaints about your income and earning capacity, then there's no need to be looking elsewhere, however if you're not earning what you feel you should and you're not providing for your family adequately, then consider moving.

It's More Than A Location

But moving out of your comfort zone is not just about your location and where you live, it's also about pushing yourself in other areas. If you do not like public speaking, which use to scare me to death,  then you should do it. Speaking in public opens so many business opportunities.

If you don't think you're very good at writing, just start doing it and you will get better. The more you write, the more writing opportunities will arise.

When you move out of your comfort zone - amazing things happen. 

If you enjoyed this blog, please share with your friends and family on Google + and Facebook. 

Tyson E. Franklin

Author | Mentor | Speaker 

Invest In Yourself

The best investment you can ever make is in yourself

I recently returned from the United States where I attended a marketing summit in Denver, run by Rem Jackson from Top Practices, and then a second conference in Phoenix called 3-Days To Success run by Dave Frees.

Both events were awesome, but for completely different reasons.

Denver

The first event in Denver was all about marketing, which for any business is extremely important, and if you do not have a marketing plan in place you need to develop one.

Too often business owners only think about marketing when there's a downturn in business and as soon as their business numbers are looking good again they stop. This helicopter type marketing is not a good habit to fall into.

When it comes to marketing your business you need to look at all your marketing pillars, and if you've read my book, It's No Secret...There's Money In Podiatry', you'll know exactly what I mean.

The more marketing pillars you can have supporting your business, the more stable your business will be long-term.

For those of you unaware of my 6 Marketing Pillars, here they are:

1. Professional Referrals 
2. Non-Professional Referrals
3. Internal Marketing 
4. External Marketing
5. Verbal Marketing 
6. Web-Based Marketing

Every marketing pillar holds the same value and all marketing pillars should be worked on simultaneously.  

Phoenix

The second event I attended in Phoenix was not about marketing, but more about mindset. How you think and act will have a huge effect on your long-term business success. 

It's hard to go into specifics, but you need to understand that happiness, as well as success is a mental choice, and nothing happens by accident. 

Your thinking, or mindset, has a massive influence on how you behave and also how you react in certain situations. Why will one person run and hide, while another person will stand and fight when faced with the same adversity? 

It's how your brain responds and interprets certain stimuli. This is a very deep subject, and far more technical than I can go into right here, but this is why you need to invest in yourself, and you need to attend as many workshops and seminars as you can, because you are the most important person in your business, so you need to invest in yourself. 

Please share this blog with family and friends if you found it of interest. 

Tyson E. Franklin - Author | Mentor 

Providing Inservice Talks Should Be Part Of Your Marketing Strategy

If you want to have a successful business, you have to do things that are not always comfortable and are not always easy to do, and one of these things in providing inservice talks to other health providers. 

I have spoken to a lot of Podiatrists (and other health professionals) and one common theme I keep hearing is that they want to be busier and they want to attract more new patients, however their budget is limiting their growth options.

I disagree...it's not their budget that is limiting their growth options, it's their thinking which is stunting their business growth.

Yes, it costs money if you want to advertise on the radio, on TV, in the newspaper or in a local magazine publication, however it costs you nothing but time if you organise and provide an inservice talk about your profession and business to other health providers.

In my book, It's No Secret, There's Money In Podiatry I discuss my Six Marketing Pillars, which are:

1. Professional Referrers
2. Non-professional Referrers
3. Internal Marketing
4. External Marketing 
5. Verbal Marketing
6. Web-Based Marketing 

No one marketing pillar is more important than another and they all need to be developed over time, otherwise you will end up very lop sided, however some marketing pillars are more expensive to implement and some are very cheap.

Providing inservice talks comes under pillar number 5 - Verbal Marketing and most verbal marketing is cheap, however if you're not comfortable talking in front of people you will find this pillar difficult to build and develop.

But if you're serious about having a successful business, you need to get over your fear, or you need to employ someone else who can take on this role. Every successful business needs a spokes person and if you're not it...then find someone who is.

In my Six Pillars Of Marketing Workshop I dig into inservice talks in a lot more detail because it's such an important aspect of the Verbal Marketing Pillar and your long-term business success.

If you've got a fear of public speaking and cannot do the inservice talk yourself, find someone else in your business who will...and then sit back and watch the positive impact it has on your business. If you work by yourself and can't find someone else to do the inservice talk for you...you'll have to sit back and watch your competition grow instead.

Tyson E. Franklin - Speaker | Mentor | Author
tysonfranklin.com

P.S. If you truly have a fear of public speaking, send me an email and lets discuss it further. I went through Primary School, High School and University without ever giving a public presentation, so when it comes to the fear of public speaking...I GET IT. 

Is Your Mastermind Group Truly Serving You

Being involved in a Mastermind Group is extremely important for your business growth, however growth is the key word, and if you're not experiencing growth from your Mastermind Group, you have to start questioning why.

Often mastermind groups start out with the best intentions, the bringing together of collective-minds for a specific purpose and goal, but over time the group degrades and becomes more of a social networking get together, and the original intentions of the mastermind group are lost.

When you first joined your Mastermind Group, what were you hoping to achieve? 

Most people will go into a mastermind group with definite intentions, and that's to lift their game, because when left alone, without accountability, they can become complacent, however if familiarity occurs within your mastermind group and you're not constantly be pushed, or being made accountable, the same complacency will occur, resulting in little growth.

If this has happened to you and it's a non-paid mastermind group, and everyone in the group is aware that the group dynamics have changed, then that's okay, as long as you're all on the same page, however if this is a paid mastermind group, it's not good enough, and it may be time to leave and find another group.

Are Friendships Costing You Money?

If you're paying money every month to be part of a mastermind group, and there's little business growth, then you're wasting your money. I've had people tell me that they stay part of a particular mastermind group because of the friendships they've made, and this is the only reason they stay.

Honestly, if your friendships are real, and you leave your mastermind group, your friendships will remain, and you may find some of your friends may follow you, because they may have been staying for the exact same reason.

Group Dynamics

I've seen people join paid mastermind groups and the group dynamics are completely wrong, and the owners of the company behind the mastermind group are simply throwing people together to make up numbers. Placing a business person with 15 years experience, performing at quite a high level, into a mastermind group with another business person unsure if they need a business card, does not make sense.

For a Mastermind Group to be effective, everyone within the group should have a similar level of business acumen, however if it's a paid mastermind group you have to be very careful that the owners of the company organising the mastermind group have your best interests in mind, and not theirs.

Find A New Mastermind Group And Get A Mentor / Coach

Please don't think that I'm against mastermind groups, in fact it's the exact opposite. I think they're a business necessity, however they must be serving you and pushing your business in a positive direction, and if not, you need to find another group.

In addition to being part of a mastermind group, you should also consider having a business mentor or business coach, because this is really the only way to develop true one-on-one accountability.

Tyson E. Franklin - Author | Mentor | Speaker 
Born with Entrepreneurial DNA
tysonfranklin.com http://www.tysonfranklin.com/

Traditional Marketing & Online Marketing Working Together

Some people will tell you that traditional marketing is dead, and that's it's not longer effective, however be careful, because more often than not you're being told this by someone who is trying to sell you some form of online advertising. 

If used correctly, television, radio and newspaper advertising still work very well, but you just need to know what your doing, and if you're smart, you'll be able to tie both traditional and online marketing together to get far more bang for your buck.

This is what we discuss, in detail, in our Workshops: Creating a Massive Web Presence & Smashing Your Competition. 

Here's an example of how traditional and online marketing can work together:

Attached to my podiatry clinic is our retail shoe store, Walk Right Footwear. I came up with an idea for a 'media release' and contacted our local newspaper, The Cairns Post. They agreed the story had legs and decided to run with it.

The media release came out on a Wednesday in the business section, and included was a great photo of my wife Christine holding a shoe by FRANKiE4. Traditionally that would be the end of the story, and by Thursday it would be forgotten, but here's where traditional marketing and online marketing can work together.

I contacted the newspaper and requested a 'Tear Sheet', which is an electronic version of the media release, which they gladly supplied. I took a copy of this and placed it on Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course Facebook. I did a lot more with it, but that's another story for another time. 

FRANKiE4 follows Walk Right Footwear on Facebook, therefore they saw the media release, and because Christine was holding their shoe in the photo, they LIKED and then SHARED it with there 34,000+ followers...yes that's 34,000!!!

The following day we receive a phone call from a young lady in Melbourne telling us that she saw the re-post by FRANKiE4 and that she had been looking for that exact shoe in the photo. We just happened to have her size in stock, and she paid by credit card over the phone...boom...Sale done!

And now I'm writing about it on Blogger, and this Blog will be re-posted on many social platforms, so a simple media release, which would normally have one days value...now has multiple uses and will drift into the online world for ever.

Radio Interview: Creating A Massive Web Presence & Smashing Your Competition

This interview was recorded just before Nicky Jurd and I began our Brisbane Workshop. Normally I talk about the wonderful world of podiatry, but in this interview I thought I would talk a little more about the business side of what I do and why it's important to communicate well with your patients and at the same time try to educate them.

Podiatry Workshop: How To Create A Massive Web Presence

I was listening to a recent webinar and I was surprised to learn that many podiatrist are still not embracing what's on offer on the web. When I wrote my book, "It's No Secret, There's Money In Podiatry", I knew the numbers were low in Cairns, but this pattern appears to be through our whole profession. 

I've overheard podiatrists say, "I'm not into all that internet, googling, blogging, online-social rubbish", which is fair enough to say, but is it really the truth, or is it an excuse due to lack of knowledge and confidence for change? I think it is the latter. 

If you truly understood the power on the internet and all it has to offer, for free, you won't jump all over it. Ignorance can be bliss, but it can also make you look really silly in certain circles. 

If you're slightly afraid, or confused by the whole online-social world, you're not alone, because it can be very confusing, which is why i have got together with a really good friend of mine, Nicky Jurd, and have put together this full-day workshop.  

By the time you leave, you'll have a better understanding of what makes a website really good, and what makes it really bad. Plus we'll discuss, Facebook, Google and Google Analytics, Adwords, blogging, Pinterest, Twitter and anything else that could or should be online. 

We will also show you how you can tie it into all your traditional forms of advertising, because they are not all dead. Book now for Brisbane and Sydney before it sells out, by visiting the EVENTS section of my website. 

A Professional Service Will Be Remembered

Poorly Trained Team Member

I was discharged from the Cairns Private Hospital today (Day Surgery Unit), after having a minor surgical procedure, (the details are unimportant), and I couldn't help but notice how good their Nursing and Medical Team were.

From the time I arrived, until the time I was discharged they were truly amazing. It wasn't that they did anything over the top, or went out of their way to try impress me because they were told they had to, instead they went about their duties, as trained, and they did it with enthusiasm and more importantly with a smile. It was flawless. In fact it was that good, here I am lying in bed blogging about it.

Their professionalism stood out, and it will be remembered for a long time. They didn't just go through the processes like a Zombie, which is often the case when it coms to the medical profession.

Now here's the million dollar question....Is your team memorable, or are the zombies? Do patients leave your podiatry business with a lasting positive impressions, or have they forgotten about you before they've even left your car park. Is your business so far from their mind that you don't even rate a mention in any conversation the following day.

This is the power of Team Training, Internal Marketing, and having simple, workable Systems in your business. These three areas have a huge influencing on your total 'Word of Mouth' referrals.

These topics, and more are discussed in my book, It's No Secret, There's Money In Podiatry.

Just remember...you only need to do 10% more then your competition, and in return for this effort, you'll smash them in every  aspect of podiatry, but more importantly, you'll be spoken about at tomorrows BBQ.

Until next time, stay safe and have a great Easter, and if you have the time, visit my website.

Tyson E. Franklin - Podiatrist | Author | Mentor
Born with Entrepreneurial DNA
tysonfranklin.com 

Illegal Podiatry Marketing

Recently I had a local Cairns podiatrist send me an email, saying that I was unprofessional, and I was only in the podiatry profession for the money. This annoyed me, because after 27 years, I enjoy podiatry more now then I did when I first started, and it has nothing to do with the money, it's got more to do with the satisfaction I get from what I do each day.

Side Note: If you think money will make you happy, it won't. However, if you build a successful podiatry business...this will definitely make you happy...and the money will eventually follow.

I was not surprised from this guys comments though, because I've come to learn, over the past 27 years, that below average podiatrist will always whinge and complain, and think others must be doing something illegal to be doing so well, because that's how they view the world.

Highly skilled podiatrist never whinge and complain, because they are too busy being awesome at what they do each day.

Here's the problem; below average podiatrists fail to realise that successful podiatrist work much smarter then they do, and they constantly read more books, attend more seminars and regularly associate with other positive people.

If you've got a podiatrist in your area, that is constantly saying negative things about you and your business, don't be concerned, because you're not alone, it happens everywhere.

This is why having a Business Coach or Mentor is so important, because sometimes you need someone to help guide you through all this negativity.

Until next time

Tyson E. Franklin - Podiatrist | Author | Mentor
Born with Entrepreneurial DNA
tysonfranklin.com 

Online Presence For Podiatrists

I'm amazed how many podiatrists think they can run a successful podiatry business, without having an online / social presence, however not to long ago I probably would have agreed.

The internet has only been in full swing for a little over 20 years, and I still remember the first patient that said they found my podiatry business online, and my response was, "Why were you looking online, what's wrong with the phone book", however today, more then 40% of my patients will say they found us online, or while doing an internet search.

This is a staggering figure, but it's not surprising. Have you noticed how small the phone book is becoming. It use to get thicker each year, then suddenly it all changed, and it's now becoming very thin, to the point of being almost obsolete.

Honestly, when was the last time you picked up the phone book and searched for a telephone number? So as the physical book gets smaller, the online world grows much larger.

You need to have a modern, up to date, kick arse website, and you need to be adding content on a regular basis. Yes, you need to add content. If you haven't added content, meaning a Blog, FAQ, an Article or News Item in the past 30 days, then you're going to lose marketing share to those new podiatrist coming into your area, who are adding content.

If your website has not been touched for years and is out of date, you need to contact your website developer, or you need to change website developers, which is what I did, and it was a change for the better.

You also need to have a Facebook Business Page, a Google+ Page, a Linkedin Account, and why not have a Pinterest Page and Youtube Account.

The list of online and social pages is endless, and you could spend days, just updating your profiles on each of them, so I suggest sticking with the main ones to begin with, the ones that your patients are probably using right now.

For more information, please visit my podiatry marketing website tysonfranklin.com and while you're there you can sign up for my newsletter.

Tyson E. Franklin - Podiatrist | Author | Mentor
Born with Entrepreneurial DNA