Unless you run a large architecture practice, the
Jon Clayton:chances are that you don't have your own marketing department.
Jon Clayton:But you do still need to market yourself if you want to keep securing new clients.
Jon Clayton:So how can you effectively market your business with limited time and resources?
Jon Clayton:That's exactly what I uncover with Sarah Noelle Block in this episode
Jon Clayton:of Architecture Business Club.
Jon Clayton:The weekly podcast for small firm founders who want to build their
Jon Clayton:dream business in architecture and enjoy more freedom, flexibility
Jon Clayton:and fulfillment in what they do.
Jon Clayton:I'm John Clayton, your host.
Jon Clayton:I know that building an architecture business can feel hard, especially
Jon Clayton:if you're a sole practitioner.
Jon Clayton:The good news is that you don't have to do it alone.
Jon Clayton:Last year, we launched our membership community to a small
Jon Clayton:group of founding members, including architects, architectural
Jon Clayton:technologists and interior designers.
Jon Clayton:We meet online each week and occasionally in person to support
Jon Clayton:each other in building our businesses and to have some fun along the way.
Jon Clayton:On the 1st of March 2025 we are opening the doors to a
Jon Clayton:limited number of new members.
Jon Clayton:If you'd like to join this supportive group of like minded
Jon Clayton:professionals now's your chance.
Jon Clayton:Just go to architecturebusinessclub.
Jon Clayton:com forward slash waitlist or click the link in the show notes and enter
Jon Clayton:your details so we can let you know.
Jon Clayton:When and how you can join this incredible group and if you have
Jon Clayton:any questions, just email John.
Jon Clayton:That's J O N at Architecturebusinessclub.
Jon Clayton:com.
Jon Clayton:Now, let's learn how you can build a lean marketing engine for your business.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block is the founder of Tiny Marketing and creator
Jon Clayton:of the Lean Marketing Engine.
Jon Clayton:She's passionate about revolutionizing marketing for founder led
Jon Clayton:business service companies.
Jon Clayton:With over a decade of experience, Sarah has mastered the art of efficient,
Jon Clayton:high impact marketing that drives growth without draining resources.
Jon Clayton:Her approach leverages lean principles to create scalable marketing
Jon Clayton:strategies, ensuring every dollar spent translates into measurable results.
Jon Clayton:Her mission is to empower businesses to build a pipeline of ready to buy
Jon Clayton:prospects using smart streamlined tactics to achieve their goals.
Jon Clayton:And you can hear more from Sarah over on the tiny marketing show, which you can
Jon Clayton:find on your favorite podcast player.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, welcome to architecture business club.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Thank you for having me.
Jon Clayton:Oh, you're very welcome.
Jon Clayton:It's a pleasure to have you here, especially as a fellow music fan.
Jon Clayton:We were just having a chat about your playlists.
Jon Clayton:Could you tell me about those?
Jon Clayton:You're really into music, aren't you?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: I
Jon Clayton:am
Jon Clayton:into music.
Jon Clayton:We, um, in January, we already planned a full year of concerts and road
Jon Clayton:trips dedicated to music festivals.
Jon Clayton:So yeah, Spotify is like.
Jon Clayton:My life.
Jon Clayton:Oh, that sounds awesome.
Jon Clayton:Is there any artists in particular that's getting hammered on
Jon Clayton:your Spotify at the moment?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, of course.
Jon Clayton:They always go through those fixations.
Jon Clayton:Hozier, Noah Kahn, Rainbow Kitten Surprise.
Jon Clayton:They're all on repeat right now.
Jon Clayton:Oh, and Rage Against the Machine cause you know, Trump.
Jon Clayton:we share a love of Rage Against the Machine.
Jon Clayton:I absolutely love them.
Jon Clayton:And I've, frustratingly never had the chance to see them live.
Jon Clayton:I'm kind of living hope that they might just reform and do like a few dates in
Jon Clayton:the UK at some point in my lifetime.
Jon Clayton:So,
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: That would be cool.
Jon Clayton:it would be cool.
Jon Clayton:Absolutely.
Jon Clayton:But in the meantime, I have to settle for just listening to them
Jon Clayton:on Spotify, but, uh, nevermind.
Jon Clayton:Hey, it's all good.
Jon Clayton:we're not here to chat just about music.
Jon Clayton:Although I probably could talk about music for quite a few hours.
Jon Clayton:We are going to talk about building a lean marketing engine so the
Jon Clayton:architecture practices with tiny or non existent marketing
Jon Clayton:departments can still effectively and efficiently grow their business.
Jon Clayton:I guess the best place to start with this would be What do you mean when
Jon Clayton:you talk about a lean marketing engine?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yes.
Jon Clayton:So I don't think we talked about this before, but I came up in the AEC world.
Jon Clayton:So I am very familiar with like the architecture, engineering, construction
Jon Clayton:world, and when I talk about lean marketing engines, it's finding the most
Jon Clayton:streamlined way to get in front of that dream client and making sure that they
Jon Clayton:are aware that they are your dream client and that you can solve their problems.
Jon Clayton:So it's really about identifying those traits and triggers
Jon Clayton:that they have in needing you.
Jon Clayton:And making sure that your messaging and your content align,
Jon Clayton:so they're like, Hey, that's me.
Jon Clayton:They're raising their own hands.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:Particularly important for those businesses that don't have the
Jon Clayton:benefit of having a big marketing department or somebody dedicated to
Jon Clayton:help them, that we do need to find ways to do this very efficiently.
Jon Clayton:And this is where this really comes in.
Jon Clayton:So this marketing engine is made up of six parts.
Jon Clayton:So could you walk me through that?
Jon Clayton:Could you tell me about the first part of the marketing engine?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yes.
Jon Clayton:So, the first part is all about identifying that dream client.
Jon Clayton:And, when I say that, so many people think, Oh, you want me to niche down?
Jon Clayton:I hate that idea.
Jon Clayton:And, I do too.
Jon Clayton:You don't have to niche down to this like specific industry or whatever building
Jon Clayton:you need to identify the traits that your favorite clients have had and the triggers
Jon Clayton:that made them need you in the first place and that becomes your dream client.
Jon Clayton:Just take a few minutes.
Jon Clayton:to sit down and write down what it is that your favorite clients had.
Jon Clayton:Like
Jon Clayton:Maybe they all were in the hospital space.
Jon Clayton:Maybe they all worked with certain clientele.
Jon Clayton:I don't know.
Jon Clayton:You start writing it down, and you're going to start seeing that the traits
Jon Clayton:that they have and the triggers that caused them to reach out to you in the
Jon Clayton:first place, that there's similarities.
Jon Clayton:Start circling those similarities that you're finding as you're
Jon Clayton:writing down this list.
Jon Clayton:And you've got your dream client outlined.
Jon Clayton:And that is what you want to plug into your messaging.
Jon Clayton:So everything that you talk about is speaking directly to them.
Jon Clayton:It basically allows you to clone your favorite clients.
Jon Clayton:OK, so so this isn't necessarily just thinking
Jon Clayton:about, oh, well, they're like.
Jon Clayton:30 to 50 years old, and it's typically females or anything like that.
Jon Clayton:This is a different way to look at this.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: No, I don't care about any of those things, really.
Jon Clayton:What I care about is, what was it about my offer, what I do, that
Jon Clayton:made you need me specifically?
Jon Clayton:Because there's a reason that they chose you to do that job, and other
Jon Clayton:people going through what they're going through are going to need you, too.
Jon Clayton:Who cares if they're 50?
Jon Clayton:I don't
Jon Clayton:I don't.
Jon Clayton:care I don't
Jon Clayton:care
Jon Clayton:Uh, no.
Jon Clayton:I mean, if, if we're offering a service that solves, uh, their problem and
Jon Clayton:we're best placed to help them to do that and they've, we're a good client
Jon Clayton:and we enjoyed working with them, then.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, who cares?
Jon Clayton:Like, who cares what age they are, whatever.
Jon Clayton:It's something like that's probably not really that relevant.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, I can see it in the consumer space, maybe, that
Jon Clayton:you've, maybe you've written down those traits that your favorite clients
Jon Clayton:have, and they have been in a certain age range, and that would make sense
Jon Clayton:based off of that consumer space that you're in, but 90 percent of the time.
Jon Clayton:Those little demographics like they're likely a dog owner and this is their
Jon Clayton:age range This is where they live most of the time in like the b2b space.
Jon Clayton:That doesn't matter.
Jon Clayton:yeah, I think people will typically refer to like, identifying
Jon Clayton:a client avatar and there's these very specific metrics that they'll look at,
Jon Clayton:as you say, and Yeah, at the end of the day, like, we can actually talk to
Jon Clayton:our clients that we've worked with and we can ask them about this, can't we?
Jon Clayton:Those clients that we've already had, those really great clients that we've
Jon Clayton:worked with already, we can just actually ask them about what it was
Jon Clayton:that drew them to us and what it was that they got out of working with us.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Absolutely, and I didn't go one step further.
Jon Clayton:I record every single Call I have with my clients, every single one.
Jon Clayton:So from the sales call to our,
Jon Clayton:like
Jon Clayton:our monthly meetings, whatever we're doing, I'll download those
Jon Clayton:transcripts, put it into chat, GBT and ask, what are the things that
Jon Clayton:they like about working with me?
Jon Clayton:What is it that triggered them to work with me in the first place?
Jon Clayton:What traits did they talk about?
Jon Clayton:What were happening when they reached out to me and you can quickly identify.
Jon Clayton:Some of these things that would make it easier for you to find
Jon Clayton:people that just like them.
Jon Clayton:That is such a fantastic tip for everybody there that if you
Jon Clayton:are not already recording those Zoom calls or Teams meetings and then
Jon Clayton:using those transcripts, uh, like there's so much you can pull out of
Jon Clayton:those to help you to connect with more people like, like the clients that
Jon Clayton:you're already enjoying working with.
Jon Clayton:Cool.
Jon Clayton:So the second part of the framework.
Jon Clayton:So once we're clear on who our ideal clients are, what is it
Jon Clayton:that comes next in the framework?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, the next thing is your signature offer So what is it
Jon Clayton:that you are providing for them and more importantly, how do you provide it?
Jon Clayton:So what's the framework or the journey that you're pulling your
Jon Clayton:clients through from beginning to end?
Jon Clayton:You need to identify That transformational arc that they're going through so you
Jon Clayton:know how to explain it to people if you get on a sales call with someone
Jon Clayton:and you're vaguely describing the outcomes are going to get, they might
Jon Clayton:bite, but they're a lot more likely to bite if they can understand.
Jon Clayton:What the next step is and the step after that and how they're getting
Jon Clayton:to the outcome because it feels too fluffy when you're just saying this
Jon Clayton:is what you're going to get without providing this framework and this
Jon Clayton:is how we're getting you there.
Jon Clayton:So signature offers next and making sure your positioning is just right.
Jon Clayton:So you're tying those traits and triggers back to the offer.
Jon Clayton:And this is why we're doing the offer.
Jon Clayton:uh
Jon Clayton:That's interesting because that's, it's a different approach to how many
Jon Clayton:architects and architecture practice might approach things because they might
Jon Clayton:not necessarily have a signature offer.
Jon Clayton:They might not think about what they, the services they provide in that way.
Jon Clayton:That it might be like, well, we do a bit of everything.
Jon Clayton:Like we, we design spaces and buildings and we help people to,
Jon Clayton:uh, in the UK, we, it would be.
Jon Clayton:planning permission to see this, uh, something similar like planning laws and,
Jon Clayton:um, legislations in the U S as well for our friends in the U S. But they might not
Jon Clayton:necessarily have it all neatly packaged up into something like a, a signature offer.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: I bet if they thought about it, there are things that people
Jon Clayton:are coming to them specifically for.
Jon Clayton:There are things that they're better at doing than other
Jon Clayton:architecture firms are doing.
Jon Clayton:Like maybe your thing is tenant development and you
Jon Clayton:never really thought about it.
Jon Clayton:Cause it's just like, I did it for this company and then they told me, and then
Jon Clayton:they talked about me to another company.
Jon Clayton:So I did it again.
Jon Clayton:And now you're really damn good at tenant development.
Jon Clayton:And you never really thought about it before.
Jon Clayton:You're like, I'm just getting a lot of this work right now.
Jon Clayton:So if we have something that we offer, like the
Jon Clayton:signature offer that's aligned with.
Jon Clayton:What I dream clients are looking for.
Jon Clayton:And it's something that we're good at delivering.
Jon Clayton:We enjoy delivering it as well.
Jon Clayton:This is going to make this easier to sell, isn't it?
Jon Clayton:Like if we've got that alignment.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: easier.
Jon Clayton:Everything is easier.
Jon Clayton:Yes.
Jon Clayton:Selling becomes what people are selling themselves at this point, because
Jon Clayton:you're tying your offer, their needs into your messaging and your content.
Jon Clayton:So people are pre selling themselves in that way.
Jon Clayton:And then when they come to you and they're actually doing that sales
Jon Clayton:call, it's more about logistics.
Jon Clayton:Like, when can we start?
Jon Clayton:What's it going to cost?
Jon Clayton:That kind of thing, rather than YU.
Jon Clayton:They've already been sold on YU, if you do it right.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, a question that some of the listeners might have in
Jon Clayton:their minds now, they might be feeling, some of them might be feeling a little
Jon Clayton:bit uncomfortable about just having one offer, like a signature offer.
Jon Clayton:Can they still sell other things, like other services, or,
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah!
Jon Clayton:Yes.
Jon Clayton:And this is like, literally in my master class.
Jon Clayton:Like, okay, you have your signature offer, and that's what you're known for.
Jon Clayton:And that's why it's so easy to sell it, because you're known for it.
Jon Clayton:But you can still have Upsells, downsells, back end offers, and a bunch of different
Jon Clayton:other things that you're actually selling, but by focusing your messaging on that
Jon Clayton:thing you're best known for, it's a lot easier, but you can still do other things.
Jon Clayton:You're not tied to it.
Jon Clayton:Mm
Jon Clayton:Oh, well that's a huge relief for everybody.
Jon Clayton:And I think as well that just makes so much more sense because like then you
Jon Clayton:are talking about and promoting this one, you're putting your energy into
Jon Clayton:promoting this signature offer, which is the one that you're, you're best at
Jon Clayton:delivering, it's your area of expertise, it's the work that you really enjoy,
Jon Clayton:those ideal clients that you really want to work with and you want more of, rather
Jon Clayton:than spreading yourself really thinly and having a dozen different brands.
Jon Clayton:Products and services that you're then trying to market and sell and, not
Jon Clayton:necessarily getting much traction with it because you're trying to do too
Jon Clayton:many different things at the same time.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: yeah, and I dare the people listening to this right now
Jon Clayton:to think about the contractors that they hire you going to hire someone
Jon Clayton:who's more of a generalist or are you seeking out people who solve the exact?
Jon Clayton:Problem that you need for me I can only speak for myself for me if I
Jon Clayton:can find someone who's an expert on that thing I'm gonna hire them Every
Jon Clayton:time over someone who's a generalist.
Jon Clayton:Absolutely.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:I mentioned before we hit record, we have a problem with our
Jon Clayton:heating at home at the moment.
Jon Clayton:So.
Jon Clayton:Uh, like if I want to get that fixed, which I sure do, I want
Jon Clayton:to get it fixed really quickly.
Jon Clayton:So I've been looking for, heating engineers, like people that
Jon Clayton:specifically do that thing.
Jon Clayton:I don't kind of look online and go, well, I'll just find some general.
Jon Clayton:Building maintenance person that does a little bit of
Jon Clayton:this and a little bit of that.
Jon Clayton:Like I want somebody that can specifically come and fix this model of boiler.
Jon Clayton:And that's what I'm looking for.
Jon Clayton:And it's the same with any other service or product that we buy.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: exactly.
Jon Clayton:I don't call my handyman when my dishwasher breaks down.
Jon Clayton:I call G G E and I said, get over here.
Jon Clayton:Absolutely.
Jon Clayton:Brilliant.
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:That makes so much more sense now.
Jon Clayton:So yeah, we know who our dream client is.
Jon Clayton:We've crafted our signature offer.
Jon Clayton:You will talk about then choosing one main.
Jon Clayton:channel
Jon Clayton:Why just one?
Jon Clayton:And what are we talking about when we talk about a channel?
Jon Clayton:Is that social media channel?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Think like a watering hole where your ideal
Jon Clayton:clients are spending time.
Jon Clayton:So it could be social media.
Jon Clayton:It could be a niche community, like a slack group or a circle
Jon Clayton:group, anywhere where your ideal customers are spending time.
Jon Clayton:The more niche, the easier it gets because you become a big fish in that tiny pond.
Jon Clayton:Um, so I say one because I'm talking to tiny marketing departments or a
Jon Clayton:zero person marketing departments, you don't have channel managers to build.
Jon Clayton:These many communities around your brand on all of your channels.
Jon Clayton:So you're going to be spread so thin, your message is going to get lost,
Jon Clayton:and you're probably going to get into that mode of ghosting after you post.
Jon Clayton:We all do when we stretch ourselves too thin, we're like, all right,
Jon Clayton:I did the thing, but you have to build a community around your brand.
Jon Clayton:And that's why I say focus on one channel because you realistically
Jon Clayton:can't do that when you are on.
Jon Clayton:X, Facebook, Instagram, everywhere.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:And that's interesting.
Jon Clayton:One of the first things that you said there was about the channel where your
Jon Clayton:idea customers are hanging out, like where they are, like if there's no point
Jon Clayton:if you want him to get some inquiries and get some sales, then just because
Jon Clayton:you enjoy Instagram, like that doesn't mean that's the right place to be.
Jon Clayton:if your clients.
Jon Clayton:If that's not where they're most active.
Jon Clayton:So, um, yeah, that is something worth kind of recognizing, isn't it?
Jon Clayton:Thinking, what is the platform where I can be where those ideal customers
Jon Clayton:are, I can connect with them.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah.
Jon Clayton:You're not going to convert them to whatever channel you happen to enjoy.
Jon Clayton:You have to go where they already are.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, that's that's going to be upsetting for some people.
Jon Clayton:They might be hoping they can just go on, uh, go on Tik Tok and just like, you know,
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: I mean, I like
Jon Clayton:cat videos
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: my business isn't there.
Jon Clayton:Yeah
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:The next thing we talk about is core content.
Jon Clayton:You recommend creating some kind of core content.
Jon Clayton:What, what do you mean when you talk about core content?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yes.
Jon Clayton:So, Let's say during your dream client phase, you develop a three
Jon Clayton:pillar messaging system, easy, and it identifies, you know, what you
Jon Clayton:do and the big highlight of the outcomes that you have, then your
Jon Clayton:core content is the anchor for that.
Jon Clayton:This is where you're creating little teaching moments and building
Jon Clayton:community and it feeds everything else.
Jon Clayton:So when I say core content, I mean one thing that you're willing
Jon Clayton:to commit on a regular basis.
Jon Clayton:And then you can use it as the anchor for everything else.
Jon Clayton:So for myself, it's my podcast.
Jon Clayton:Tiny marketing is my core content.
Jon Clayton:I committed to doing it weekly.
Jon Clayton:Cool.
Jon Clayton:Now I take the transcripts from that podcast and I break it up
Jon Clayton:into little teaching moments and that becomes my email.
Jon Clayton:That becomes my social media posts that.
Jon Clayton:Leads into the lead generator that I am doing that month.
Jon Clayton:something that you mentioned there is about content repurposing,
Jon Clayton:how you've chosen one main Type of core content, which is your podcast, but
Jon Clayton:then you're taking the text transcripts from that and then you're finding a
Jon Clayton:variety of different ways to be able to repurpose that then you then you've got
Jon Clayton:content to use on your social social media channels too, which is really cool.
Jon Clayton:Could you.
Jon Clayton:Give some other examples of perhaps some other types of core
Jon Clayton:content that people could do.
Jon Clayton:So we've, we've talked about podcasting.
Jon Clayton:Is there anything else that people could do for their core content
Jon Clayton:if podcasting wasn't for them?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, and podcast is not gonna be for everybody Not everyone
Jon Clayton:wants that the thing that I direct my clients to first is a hybrid core
Jon Clayton:content lead generator so their core content is going to be something that
Jon Clayton:actively brings in leads while also being that Anchor that you can distribute
Jon Clayton:as different pieces of microcontent.
Jon Clayton:So that might look like a monthly masterclass.
Jon Clayton:It might even be as far and in between as an annual summit where they bring
Jon Clayton:in speakers and they get little mini masterclasses and they have it all in one
Jon Clayton:thing, but then every single one of those little mini masterclasses in that summit
Jon Clayton:can become content and teaching moments.
Jon Clayton:For social and email throughout that year because it's so robust that it
Jon Clayton:can feed your content for a year and you can drive it all back to that
Jon Clayton:on demand summit after the fact.
Jon Clayton:So you're, it's creating an ecosystem.
Jon Clayton:Those tiny teaching moments in your micro content lead back to the big
Jon Clayton:content and that big content leads to your active lead generators So it's
Jon Clayton:all playing together really nicely
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:It's just.
Jon Clayton:Everything working together so that you've got this core content, uh, as
Jon Clayton:you say could be the podcast I guess it could be perhaps, uh, youtube
Jon Clayton:could be a video video channel
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, it could be a youtube show.
Jon Clayton:It could be research reports that are quarterly.
Jon Clayton:It could be a networking event Um, I actually have a hundred different
Jon Clayton:variations of what your core content can be within my tiny marketing club
Jon Clayton:um, there are Whatever your magic is, what you're good at, there's a
Jon Clayton:way to turn that into core content.
Jon Clayton:There's a variation.
Jon Clayton:I guess that would be the the sweet spot if you can find a a type of
Jon Clayton:content that I don't want to necessarily say that entirely feels comfortable
Jon Clayton:because there is an argument to say that actually, you know, growth happens when
Jon Clayton:you move a bit out of your comfort zone, but actually, I think, particularly if
Jon Clayton:you're getting started, if it's something that feels so uncomfortable to do,
Jon Clayton:you're not going to get consistent enough with it for it to be able to become a
Jon Clayton:habit, particularly if it's something that you're looking to do regular.
Jon Clayton:For me, Uh, I mean, I love, love podcasting, podcasting is something that
Jon Clayton:I'm, uh, become very passionate about.
Jon Clayton:So, so that would be the thing for me, but for others, as you say, it
Jon Clayton:could be that it's, um, an annual summit that gets promoted throughout
Jon Clayton:the year and then gets repurposed.
Jon Clayton:It could be regular events.
Jon Clayton:It could be something that you're running, maybe a monthly masterclass.
Jon Clayton:There's so many different options there
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: hmm.
Jon Clayton:them.
Jon Clayton:So that's really good to know that there are those options there for
Jon Clayton:everybody that they can choose something and test it and trial it out.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, you, you suggest having a couple of things to generate leads.
Jon Clayton:you did also mention there that this can also tie in to your core
Jon Clayton:content as well, but you mentioned having two things to generate leads.
Jon Clayton:Could you talk me through those and why they matter?
Jon Clayton:matter
Jon Clayton:Remember, don't forget to join the wait list for our membership community,
Jon Clayton:where you can meet other business owners who want the same thing as you.
Jon Clayton:If a thriving business that gives you more freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment.
Jon Clayton:just go to architecture, business club.com forward slash waitlist, or
Jon Clayton:click the link in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:And enter your details.
Jon Clayton:So you don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to improve
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Jon Clayton:And if you're enjoying the show, then please leave a five-star review or
Jon Clayton:rating wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jon Clayton:Now, back to the show.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, so I recommend a passive lead magnet
Jon Clayton:and an active lead generator.
Jon Clayton:The passive lead magnet is on demand, it's always available, always on.
Jon Clayton:So it's just, it's dripping new leads in all the time.
Jon Clayton:And that could be as simple as your newsletter sign up.
Jon Clayton:Or it could be a downloadable guide or an ebook, something like that,
Jon Clayton:or even like a past masterclass that's available on demand.
Jon Clayton:Now, I am always like repurpose if it already exists, use that.
Jon Clayton:Um, and then, so what you can expect is that slowly people just like
Jon Clayton:drip into your funnel with that.
Jon Clayton:And then the active lead generator, it is time sensitive.
Jon Clayton:So it requires people to sign up.
Jon Clayton:During a certain period and they have to consume it during that period
Jon Clayton:or it disappears So that brings in a flood of new leads at one time.
Jon Clayton:That's why it's an active lead generator.
Jon Clayton:It's usually live or time limited so it's only available for a few days and
Jon Clayton:Then you can expect a flood of leads at one time and you can pull them all all
Jon Clayton:through that funnel Simultaneously, so you can organize it a bit more where
Jon Clayton:those passive ones, you have to be a little on your toes and ready for them.
Jon Clayton:Okay, so the two quite different things there, so the passive
Jon Clayton:ones you said that it could be something like signing up for a newsletter, it
Jon Clayton:could be a downloadable, maybe we have, you mentioned about repurposing, so
Jon Clayton:maybe we've got something that maybe we delivered live or pre recorded video that
Jon Clayton:we're then repurposing into something that people can access and just at any
Jon Clayton:point that they could sign up for this and consume that piece of content and
Jon Clayton:get, get them onto your email list.
Jon Clayton:But the other thing the active lead generator, so that's going to be more
Jon Clayton:things like I guess that could be like a, an event, like, um, a webinar
Jon Clayton:or an in person event possibly.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah.
Jon Clayton:I, so I switch mine back and forth every other month.
Jon Clayton:I have a masterclass, which is like quick and dirty 30 minutes.
Jon Clayton:I have one tomorrow.
Jon Clayton:And the other one that I do on the alternating month is a paid workshop.
Jon Clayton:So, depending on the type of lead generator you're doing,
Jon Clayton:you're going to get different levels of warmth in your leads.
Jon Clayton:So passive lead magnets will bring in cold leads because they don't
Jon Clayton:have to consume it right away.
Jon Clayton:It might sit in their inbox forever.
Jon Clayton:So they're leads, but they're pretty cold.
Jon Clayton:And then we have active lead generators, which bring in warmer leads because If
Jon Clayton:they want to consume it, they have to do it during that certain period of time.
Jon Clayton:So I like those.
Jon Clayton:But micro content or micro offers like a paid workshop, something between the
Jon Clayton:like 27 and 97 range, bring in hot leads.
Jon Clayton:Because as soon as people apply monetary value to the thing that they're getting,
Jon Clayton:they are a lot more likely to consume it.
Jon Clayton:They're like, well, I paid for it.
Jon Clayton:I am going to access that.
Jon Clayton:I'm going to get that.
Jon Clayton:And then we have our fire leads, which are people that are coming
Jon Clayton:into our gateway offers, which is the next piece of this six part engine.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:That's really interesting.
Jon Clayton:That you talk through the difference between the.
Jon Clayton:The hotness, the temperature of those leads that you're bringing in that if
Jon Clayton:it's something that people are getting for free, they're likely to be a colder
Jon Clayton:lead, which is going to take longer to convert them into a customer like
Jon Clayton:they're not as warmed up, they're not as ready, they're not as ready, ripe
Jon Clayton:and ready to buy, whereas if it's somebody that's got some skin in the
Jon Clayton:game, they've invested some money to attend a paid event or a masterclass
Jon Clayton:that
Jon Clayton:They're going to be more ready for the next thing that's coming.
Jon Clayton:They're going to be more likely to, well, they're going to be more likely
Jon Clayton:to actually do the work and consume the content at your, your paid event or your
Jon Clayton:workshop, the more likely to attend it in the first place, having paid for it.
Jon Clayton:Um, but then they're going to be more ready.
Jon Clayton:To buy the offer that's coming next, which neatly segues us into the
Jon Clayton:final part of the lean marketing engine, which is a gateway offer.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: the
Jon Clayton:is a gateway offer?
Jon Clayton:Yeah, the gateway
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: is an entry point offer for new clients to come in.
Jon Clayton:So this is designed very strategically to pull people from that lead generator
Jon Clayton:all the way to your signature offer.
Jon Clayton:So how it works is it is a standalone offer and it costs between 10 to
Jon Clayton:25 percent of your signature offer.
Jon Clayton:And the intention behind it is to get all stakeholders invested in the
Jon Clayton:strategy you're creating to get them from point A, the pain, to point
Jon Clayton:B, woohoo, I'm on the other side of that pain, the transformation.
Jon Clayton:So, it works in three steps.
Jon Clayton:The first step is an interview, so you interview all of the stakeholders
Jon Clayton:or decision makers at the same time to gather all of the information that
Jon Clayton:you would need in order to create the best path forward for them.
Jon Clayton:So what would that journey look like specifically for them?
Jon Clayton:The second part is the documentation, so you need to create some sort of blueprint
Jon Clayton:or strategy or audit or report or brief on what that transformation would look like,
Jon Clayton:and in that documentation, you need to tell them what it would look like to move
Jon Clayton:forward, so they have the option to take that strategy, do it themselves, Or, take
Jon Clayton:that strategy and you will do it for them.
Jon Clayton:So they need to have that point where they, you are connecting the pain, their
Jon Clayton:goals, to the offer every step of the way in that moving forward section.
Jon Clayton:And then part three is the live review.
Jon Clayton:So during the live review, that's when the selling happens.
Jon Clayton:You give it to them ahead of time so they have time to figure out
Jon Clayton:what questions they have, talk about what they would want to revise.
Jon Clayton:The live session, you do that.
Jon Clayton:You had that conversation and at the end, that's when you're going to move them.
Jon Clayton:Like, Hey, you can do this on your own or you can have me do it.
Jon Clayton:And this is what it would look like and connect those dots.
Jon Clayton:So you're connecting what you learned from that interview to the
Jon Clayton:reason why you're choosing this path forward with them in your offer.
Jon Clayton:So I have a question.
Jon Clayton:The
Jon Clayton:The first part of that, that first step, so the interview part where you're asking
Jon Clayton:those questions and you're learning about the transformation that they're
Jon Clayton:essentially looking for, would you, would that normally be part of that
Jon Clayton:paid gateway offer or is that like, a lead in like a sort of, sometimes
Jon Clayton:people will have like a discovery call that something as a free journey?
Jon Clayton:Unpaid thing before they then begin delivering a paid service, but
Jon Clayton:you'd see that We're getting paid.
Jon Clayton:We're getting paid.
Jon Clayton:I like the sound of it
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yeah, yeah, no, we're getting paid for that.
Jon Clayton:That's hard work.
Jon Clayton:Um, so how I do it is I'll have like a 15 to 20 minute conversation with
Jon Clayton:someone that's more of a Fit check, like.
Jon Clayton:Do we vibe and is this someone I can help and if this is someone I can help then
Jon Clayton:I'll say okay the next steps are to book your, you know, insert entry offer here.
Jon Clayton:Mm
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: And during that time that's when we're going to do this
Jon Clayton:interview, build out your strategy and figure out your path to getting to this
Jon Clayton:goal, whatever their goal might be.
Jon Clayton:But your entry offer is going to take over, it's going to replace the discovery.
Jon Clayton:The proposal and the onboarding that you would typically have, that's
Jon Clayton:usually unpaid or not adequately assessed when you're deciding
Jon Clayton:on your signature offer pricing.
Jon Clayton:Oh, I, I love, I love the idea.
Jon Clayton:So essentially there's certain elements that normally the normal way
Jon Clayton:of things that we, it might be non billable hours that these companies
Jon Clayton:are writing off and saying, well, you know, we have to spend so many
Jon Clayton:hours having these conversations and.
Jon Clayton:Meetings with prospective clients and then doing this initial audit or analysis of
Jon Clayton:their needs and then putting it together into some kind of proposal and, and
Jon Clayton:all of that can take a lot of time and they are often not getting paid for it.
Jon Clayton:Whereas this way of working, having that packaged as a
Jon Clayton:gateway offer that has some very.
Jon Clayton:Clear deliverables that they get and framing it and pitching it in such
Jon Clayton:a way means that we can do all of that stuff and get paid for doing it.
Jon Clayton:And I guess it serves as a, a taster of actually, actually experiencing what
Jon Clayton:it's like to work with that client.
Jon Clayton:Yeah,
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: of you the opportunity to say, hmm, we vibed or we didn't.
Jon Clayton:I would want to work with them or I wouldn't.
Jon Clayton:It also pretty much guarantees that the signature offer that you do is going to
Jon Clayton:go off without a hitch because you've pre built the strategy that you're taking them
Jon Clayton:through and you have had them sign off.
Jon Clayton:Yes, I love this before the project begins.
Jon Clayton:So you have this roadmap that you can always go back to.
Jon Clayton:Like if they're pushing back, they're like, why are we doing this?
Jon Clayton:Look
Jon Clayton:This is why it's, it was in the strategy that you signed off on.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, do you have any thoughts on, um, an example of a gateway offer for, for
Jon Clayton:an architect or architecture practice owner that might be listening in?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Let's see.
Jon Clayton:Putting you on the spot
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: You are.
Jon Clayton:I didn't think about this ahead of time.
Jon Clayton:Um, let's go with the tenant development.
Jon Clayton:Um, chitty chat that I was using example I was using earlier.
Jon Clayton:So let's say a client comes to you in their business and they're
Jon Clayton:like, we're looking at this space.
Jon Clayton:Um, it doesn't fit at all.
Jon Clayton:It used to be a restaurant and we're going to be a barbershop.
Jon Clayton:Um, What do you think we should do?
Jon Clayton:What, how do you visualize this project going and what's the timeline
Jon Clayton:would look like and all of that.
Jon Clayton:So if they're coming to you with something like that, then your
Jon Clayton:gateway offer could be sitting down, having a conversation with everybody
Jon Clayton:who's involved in that project.
Jon Clayton:So you're getting.
Jon Clayton:All of their insights, putting down, uh, writing a report on,
Jon Clayton:okay, this is what you guys wanted.
Jon Clayton:This is what I see would be the best path moving forward.
Jon Clayton:And probably I would have some sort of list.
Jon Clayton:Like this is the, these are the line items that we would need to go through to
Jon Clayton:turn this restaurant into a barber shop.
Jon Clayton:I think it's the perfect location.
Jon Clayton:Here are the stats on why it's a good location for a barbershop.
Jon Clayton:This is what it would look like moving forward.
Jon Clayton:So, I think that would probably be a good way to bring people in,
Jon Clayton:build them a solid strategy that is valuable without even having to move
Jon Clayton:forward with you if they chose not to.
Jon Clayton:So, it's a good stand alone offer, but it also is a great
Jon Clayton:lead in to hiring you for it.
Jon Clayton:Because once you do that, they're like, you came up with a strategy,
Jon Clayton:why would I go with anyone else?
Jon Clayton:Yeah, that makes so much sense to me.
Jon Clayton:It's like you mentioned there that this is something that has
Jon Clayton:got standalone value on its own.
Jon Clayton:So even if they decide, like in the case of an architect, like it could be that,
Jon Clayton:as you say, they're doing some discovery, they've got that initial meeting, they're
Jon Clayton:finding out everything about the aims for the project, and you're putting
Jon Clayton:together a report that's making some.
Jon Clayton:recommendations, it's outlining perhaps what the next steps are, who else might
Jon Clayton:need to be involved, what might need to happen, what the timescales might
Jon Clayton:look like, and that is something that whether or not they decide to work with
Jon Clayton:you or whether they decide to proceed straight away or not They've got something
Jon Clayton:that's really, really valuable that they could, if they wanted, they could
Jon Clayton:go and take that document and they could go and get quotes from some of
Jon Clayton:the practices, but you're going to be in the driving seat, like they're going
Jon Clayton:to be, you're going to be their first choice, I mean, assuming that It's all
Jon Clayton:gone well and you, you know, you didn't kind of like, I don't know, clash or
Jon Clayton:something, you know, but assuming that it's all gone well, that you're really
Jon Clayton:good fit for each other, then why would they not be wanting to work with you?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Exactly, and think about it, every single person, if they
Jon Clayton:chose to go that route and shop it around, every single person is being
Jon Clayton:compared to you, not someone else.
Jon Clayton:You are the person that they're, or the business that they're comparing it to.
Jon Clayton:And that puts you in a much better position than everyone else because
Jon Clayton:they have to compare to you.
Jon Clayton:And the other thing is when you're working with businesses, the hardest
Jon Clayton:thing is dealing with all of the different decision makers and them not agreeing,
Jon Clayton:but you're getting that agreement ahead of time during that entry offer.
Jon Clayton:So you've got everyone on board and that makes selling to a
Jon Clayton:committee of buyers a lot easier.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, so many benefits.
Jon Clayton:I think, or something that I should just mention, if the listeners are wanting
Jon Clayton:to learn a little bit more about entry offers, we have a podcast episode that
Jon Clayton:was recorded a little while ago with Laura Robinson, uh, about first date offers.
Jon Clayton:And there's some similarities between that and what we've been talking about
Jon Clayton:here today regarding gateway offers.
Jon Clayton:So if you want to kind of learn a little bit more about that concept, then go and
Jon Clayton:check out that podcast episode as well.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, this has been absolutely amazing.
Jon Clayton:So useful for everybody.
Jon Clayton:What would be the main thing that you'd like everybody to take
Jon Clayton:away from the conversation today?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: I would say when you're listening to this, start
Jon Clayton:thinking about what a potential gateway offer could be for you.
Jon Clayton:That's a great place to start when you're building your engine because
Jon Clayton:you're having so many interviews.
Jon Clayton:During that gateway offer process at first, you're going to sell a lot
Jon Clayton:of them because you need to get the reps in to get really good at it.
Jon Clayton:You are going to have so many insights from your dream clients that you can
Jon Clayton:use to feed all of the rest of this.
Jon Clayton:You're going to better understand who your dream client is.
Jon Clayton:You might be interviewing people and you're like, they actually suck.
Jon Clayton:I don't want to work with more people like that.
Jon Clayton:And they're eliminated from your dream client profile.
Jon Clayton:You'll understand what aspects of your offer people actually care
Jon Clayton:about and what you could maybe toss aside that don't matter.
Jon Clayton:You'll learn what channels they spend time on.
Jon Clayton:Cause you can ask during that, during that time and what kind of questions come up.
Jon Clayton:can feed your content, what you'd actually create content around.
Jon Clayton:So everything else becomes easier.
Jon Clayton:Start there.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, was there anything else that you wanted to add about the topic
Jon Clayton:that we haven't already covered today?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: I think we are good.
Jon Clayton:Awesome.
Jon Clayton:Awesome.
Jon Clayton:Well, that just leaves me to ask my question that I like to ask
Jon Clayton:the guests that come on the show.
Jon Clayton:It's nothing to do with the topic we've been talking about.
Jon Clayton:I just love to travel and to discover new places.
Jon Clayton:And I was just wondering if you could tell me about one of your favourite
Jon Clayton:places and what you love about it.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Well, one of my favorite places is Colorado because it is
Jon Clayton:everywhere you look, it's like a painting.
Jon Clayton:It's the most beautiful state I've ever seen.
Jon Clayton:But when you told me that you were going to ask that question at the beginning of
Jon Clayton:this, the first thing that popped into my head is, My car is my favorite place
Jon Clayton:because I love road trips and I can go Anywhere and the possibilities are endless
Jon Clayton:and I could just turn right instead of turning left and see something new
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:That's, uh, that's so original as well, Sarah, because nobody on the show so
Jon Clayton:far has said that their car is their favorite place, but that makes so much
Jon Clayton:sense now that you've mentioned it.
Jon Clayton:That's awesome.
Jon Clayton:Sarah, thank you so much for being a guest on the show and for sharing
Jon Clayton:your expertise with everybody.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Thanks for having me.
Jon Clayton:Oh, you're very welcome.
Jon Clayton:If people would like to learn more about you and connect with
Jon Clayton:you online, where would be the best place for them to do that?
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Yes So my website is my name sarahnoelblock.
Jon Clayton:com And I spend most of my time on linkedin.
Jon Clayton:You can find me there And it's just slash sarahnoelblock.
Jon Clayton:Perfect.
Jon Clayton:I'll make sure that we also include a link to your website and your LinkedIn profile.
Jon Clayton:We'll put those in the show notes as well, so you can just click the links in there
Jon Clayton:and you can connect with Sarah there.
Jon Clayton:Perfect.
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:Thanks again, Sarah.
Jon Clayton:Sarah Noel Block: Thank you
Jon Clayton:Next time, I share all the details about our membership community.
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Jon Clayton:Running your architecture business.
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