Each morning I walk with Olive to Sfoglia.

It’s an Italian coffee shop near my place.

And, up until a few weeks ago, I would carry her.

But now that she somewhat follows me, I let her walk.

The only problem is…

Every 5 metres she stops and gets distracted by some dirty piece of trash.

Usually, it’s some type of bottle top. But she also loves old coffee cups…

Potato chip packets…

And her favourite…

Cigarette butts.

I don’t know what it is about cigarette butts, but every time I turn around there’s either one in her hand or mouth.

😐

So the good news is - she gets to move around more.

The bad news is, she eats cigarette butts and a trip that used to take me 3 minutes now takes me about 15 each way.

Or in other words… it’s at least 10x longer.

So anyway…

As I was observing Olive trying to stick yet another cigarette butt in her mouth this morning, I had to laugh.

The reason?

Because I realised a lot of Coaches (including yours truly many years ago) behave the same way.

Here’s what I mean…

As Coaches, we have a destination we want to get to.

Typically, this is a number of clients per month or a monthly revenue goal.

And we know that in order to get to that destination we simply have to remain focused and put one foot in front of the other.

(AKA: focus on the marketing fundamentals)

It’s a simple task, but one we make oh so very hard.

Here’s how the story typically goes…

In beginning, we walk toward our destination.

We get clear on our ideal client.

We craft our offer.

We start to build our list.

Things are going in the right direction.

But then as we’re walking we get distracted by the latest bright shiny guru funnel that’s popped out in front of us.

Our momentum stops.

And then after “fart arsing” around for a few months trying to make it work, we realise…

“This shiny marketing tactic is about as useless tits on a bull!”

And that’s when we get back on the path to our destination, we start doing the fundamentals again, we finally start moving forward and…

“Oh my god, what’s what!?”

“It’s beautiful!”

“That’s the sparkliest book funnel I’ve ever seen!” the Coach says to themselves.

“Yes, let me try this! This is amazing!”

And off they go down another path, once again killing their momentum.

And on it goes…

What should have been a 3 month trip takes 10x longer.

I know this story so well because I lived it for many years.

And I see it happen with so many Coaches every day.

They’re constantly getting distracted by all the “trash” along their path to success.

The bright shiny stuff does seems cool at first…

But most often it doesn’t actually move you forward.

In fact…

It often slows you down for months… or years!

Here’s the truth:

If all you want is clients or course sales, then you DON’T need a complex funnel.

With a complex funnel there are so many variables you have to get right for it to make work.

For example…

Often you have multiple offers and deadlines and up sells and complex email sequences and they ALL have to be working to make the whole funnel convert.

This just bogs you down for months on end trying to get it all in sync.

So I say screw the bright shiny trash.

Find something you know that’s simple and that has worked for many Coaches before you.

That way, if it doesn’t convert you know the problem has something to do with your marketing message/offer (as opposed to the funnel).

This is what got me back onto email.

You see, I had always known the prospects on my list were my warmest “low hanging fruit” market.

(AKA: the easiest of any strategy or funnel to turn into clients)

But I got distracted by Gary Guru’s bright shiny funnel, and stop building or emailing my list.

But it was when I got back to simplifying my business - to building my list and emailing my list - did getting clients become easy.

Getting clients is not hard when you focus on simplicity.

Yes, “building and emailing” your list isn’t as exciting as Gary Guru’s latest wackydoo funnel.

I get that.

But there are WAY less moving pieces to it, and therefore, WAY less ways for you to screw it up.

This is how I’ve been helping Coaches get great results for years.

I show them how to build their list (on autopilot) with qualified leads, then send that list one simple, 15 minute email each day with an offer to work with them.

And that’s it.

That’s the whole strategy.

As I said, getting clients is pretty simple when you remove the variables.

You’ve just got to decide if simplicity is what you want.

With that being said…

If you’re tired of sticking cigarette butts in your mouth, maybe you’d like to try my simple 15 minute daily email system?

If so, I have a “first come first served” waitlist.

To be the next person in line, simply click this link here:

https://scale.lukecharlton.com/waitlist/the-15-minute-client/

-Luke Charlton
Location: The Man Cave

Yesterday, Canberra (the capital city of Australia with 400,000+ people) went into lockdown.

The reason?

One covid case.

No, that’s not a typo.

One case. As in - “uno.”

A little over the top?

Depends on who you are I guess…

If you’re in a nursing home with multiple co-morbidities, maybe not.

(Then again, any old cold would probably “get you”)

But if you’ve got an even half-decent immune system, I would say so.

The real question is - why do people accept such an overreaction?

Fear, of course.

There is literally nothing more powerful that will persuade someone than fear.

This is why any time you turn on the news you’re confronted with case numbers, deaths, and symptoms (AKA: fear).

Fear sells.

It’s also why every good marketer and his stinky dog use urgency and scarcity to sell their programs.

(And why fake gurus always pretend there's a deadline to join their program).

Is it unethical to use fear in your marketing?

Not if it gets someone to buy something they truly need.

For example, let’s say you’re selling a coaching program that helps people with acne.  And in one of your emails you talk about how if they don’t get it fixed, it will almost certainly leave scars on their face for the rest of their life.

Is that unethical?

No, that’s being honest.

Imagine not properly warning your prospects of the dangers if they continue the way they’re going?

THAT is unethical.

Of course, you don’t want to overdo it either.

Like millions who are turning off the MSM because of all their fear-mongering, your prospects will turn off your marketing message (AKA: unsubscribe) if you do the same.

So next time you’re thinking of something to say - don’t be afraid to use fear.

Just don’t overuse it.  

With that being said…

If you're looking for more ways to use deep psychology to ethically persuade your prospects to work with you, that's exactly what I show you how to do in my "15 Minute Client" program.

Whether it's crafting your offer, building your lead magnet, writing your ads or sending your emails - you'll be using triggers in your marketing to constantly pull your prospect toward you so they eventually jump into your program.

To know when the next spots are open, put yourself on the waitlist here:

https://scale.lukecharlton.com/waitlist/the-15-minute-client/

-Luke Charlton
Location: The Man Cave