Episode 29: ‘They Ask, You Answer’: This book will transform your marketing

In today's main event, I'm going to talk to you about one of my most favourite marketing books ever and that's 'They ask you answer' by Marcus Sheridan.

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Now, if you've not heard of the book before and don’t know Marcus Sheridan let me tell you his story...

He didn't start his career as a marketing expert or bestselling author.

In fact, he started out as a pool guy...

And back in 2008,  during the financial crash, his swimming pool company—River Pools & Spas—was on the verge of collapse.

Leads had dried up, sales had plummeted, and it looked like they were about to go bankrupt.

Sheridan was desperate to find a way to survive.

And when thinking about he could make sales for his pool company fast, he thought about his own buying behaviour and how he made big purchasing decisions.

He realised that like most of us, before he made any sort of big purchasing decision, he would always do extensive research first.

...He would search for the answers he needed to reassure him that he was making the best decision.

Whether that was buying a car, a TV, or any other expensive product like a big old swimming pool in his garden.

And this was his light bulb moment...

People don't want to be sold to, they need answers.

So when he was speaking to people about swimming pools...

He was keeping a list of every single question they asked...

He was then checking out his competitors to see what they were doing.

And that's when he realised that no one was answering the big questions that buyers had.

These are all things we do before committing to making a purchasing decision.

And Marcus saw this a HUGE opportunity.

He decided that his company should be the one that answered every single question his customers had...

And he was going to do it openly, honestly and better than anyone else.

He started writing blog posts and creating content that addressed the real concerns people had when buying a pool.

He answered questions like:

And because he answered these questions...

His website traffic exploded

Instead of chasing leads, leads started coming to him.

And he transformed his failing business into one of the most successful pool companies in the US.

He then shared this simple, yet powerful approach with everyone else in the world via his book "They Ask, You Answer."

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When I finished reading this book, and that was a good few years ago now, I remember feeling really dumb.

For me, everything that Marcus said in the book was just common sense.

We all do extensive research before making a buying decision.

And the reason why his marketing was such a success was because he recognised this and simply answered the questions that his prospects had.

And for me, that is what marketing is all about.

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Okay, so now that I've explained Marcus's story and his marketing approach...

Let’s dive into the three biggest takeaways from the book and how they can transform the way you market your consultancy.

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So for me..

Takeaway 1 is: 70% of the buying decision is made before a prospect contacts you

By the time someone actually contacts you, they’ve already done the research.

They’ve Googled, they’ve compared their options, they’ve checked your website, and they’ve probably made up their mind about whether they trust you or not.

So here’s the big question:

Does your website actually help them make that decision?

Or are they clicking away because they can’t find the information they need?

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The second takeaway of the book for me is that the key to great marketing is answering customer question.

Marcus Sheridan’s whole marketing approach is built on one simple principle:

Answer your prospects’ questions.

That’s it.

Forget the complicated marketing strategies.

Just answer the questions your clients are already asking.

And do it better than any of your competitors.

Because when you become the business that just gives people the information they’re searching for—clearly, openly, and honestly—you instantly stand out.

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And then the third, final and probably biggest takeaway of the book for me are the topics you should be covering in your questions and answers.

He calls these The Big 5 and they are the top 5 most popular question subjects that you should answer in your own marketing.

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So the first subject is price and cost.

If you think about it, this is the #1 thing prospects want to know…

And it's crazy how many businesses avoid it and are worried about being transparent with their pricing.

Even if you can’t give an exact price, you should explain what affects the cost— so people understand what they’re paying for.

And if you're not talking about pricing, people assume you’re hiding something which is the quickest way for you to lose their trust.

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The second subject is problems and negatives.

Now, this one surprises a lot of people.

Because most businesses think that talking about the downsides of what they offer will put customers off.

But in reality? It does the opposite.

Being upfront about the challenges, limitations, or who your service isn’t right for makes you way more credible.

It shows that you’re honest, and that you actually care about helping them make the right decision—even if that means they don’t work with you.

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The third subject is comparisons.

If someone is about to spend money, they’re always going to compare options.

So why wouldn’t you be the one to help them do that?

Think about it—if your prospect is Googling:

And your website doesn’t answer that?

Someone else’s will.

And if they get that information from another site, you’ve lost them.

So instead of letting someone else control the conversation, you should be the one to own it.

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The fourth subject is reviews.

We all check reviews before we buy anything, right?

So why not provide that information yourself?

When you’re the one giving honest reviews, people see you as the trusted source.

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And finally, the fifth subject is best in class.

Now, this one feels counterintuitive—but it works.

Marcus Sheridan says you should actually help people find the best options in your industry, even if that’s not you.

So let’s say you wrote a blog called:

And yes, that means mentioning your competitors.

But here’s what happens—when you’re the one providing this level of transparency, people trust you more.

And in the end? They’re more likely to choose you anyway.

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Okay so now I've talked you through my 3 biggest takeaways of the book...

I want to leave you with a little action plan so you can start using the they ask you answer approach for yourself.

Step 1: Write down the top 20 questions your clients ask.

Step 2: Create content that answers these questions.

And step 3: Be transparent.

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And that brings us to the end of this week's main event.

Like I said at the start, I absolutely LOVE this book and think I've given you a really good summary of what it's about.

I know creating content takes a lot of time and that's why we use the They Ask You Answer approach when creating content for the HR Marketing Box.

The HR Marketing Box is an online portal full of ready to use content and ideas to help you increase your brand awareness and get new clients.

And when we create the content, we think about the questions that business owners will ask and the top 5 subjects to ensure the content we create is as good as it possibly can be.

If you'd like to learn more about content marketing or the HR Marketing Box, then please feel welcome to reach out and let's book in a chat.

I was speaking to a friend the other day and we were discussing what the perfect business looked like.

I said the perfect business is one that:

And for me, these ingredients make a successful, stress-free, scalable and sellable business model.

And I'm sure these are ingredients that you would like yourself.

And that's why last year in the HR world,  I started a new transformational movement called the Recurring Revenue Revolution.

To join the Recurring Revenue Revolution you simply need to make a commitment, to yourself, to focus on generating subscription-based recurring revenue as your first priority.

But how do you turn HR into subscription based revenue?

Within my flagship video programme: How to package up and sell HR to make more money...

I talk you through a brand new framework called the HR Service Pyramid which helps you break HR down into the different levels of service and package them up using the right pricing model.

I also provide templated subscription based packages for you to copy and a templated promotional deck to help you educate business owners, answer the questions they have and help you sell.

So if you would like to stop trading your time, make more recurring revenue and free yourself from client delivery then this video programme is definitely worth you checking out...

To learn more visit my website thehrmarketingguy.com

And if you'd like to jump on a call to chat more, please feel welcome to reach out.