They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer

The media could not be loaded.  Hi I’m Douglas Burdett, host of The Marketing Book Podcast and I’d like to tell you about the book “They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer” by Marcus SheridanIn 2001, Marcus Sheridan and his two business partners started a fiberglass swimming pool installation company in Virginia. To market their business, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising each year. But in 2008, with the crash of the real estate market, he almost lost his company.With barely enough money to keep paying the bills and certainly none to invest in any more advertising, Marcus did the only thing he could to market his business to keep it afloat. He started answering customer questions. Every question he ever got from a prospective customer went on his website in the form of blog posts, videos and ebooks. Questions about price, why his product is not a fit for every customer, the pros and cons of fiberglass pools vs concrete pools and so on.And you know what happened?His website became one of the highest trafficked swimming pool websites in the world. And the fear that his prospective customers had about buying a swimming pool from him went down, while their trust in his company soared. His business started to grow like never before, and it’s growing strong to this day. As a result, Marcus has become a highly sought after global speaker and consultant in the digital sales and marketing world, working with hundreds of business of all sizes to become the most trusted voice of their industry.In “They Ask, You Answer” Marcus walks you through his own journey and explains how your company can do the same thing, as well as the pitfalls along the way toward gaining the trust of your prospective customers by turning your company into a culture of teaching. If you only read one marketing and sales book this year, please consider reading this one. I loved it.And to listen to an interview with Marcus Sheridan about “They Ask You Answer,” visit MarketingBookPodcast.com

This book actually answered many questions I had about how the real estate industry has been changing and has become very difficult. When I first got licensed in 1988 people were much more trusting and seen the value of our services. Oh how things have changed over the years. Can't blame them with the advancements of Big Data and AI. When Marcus asks who is the most trusted voice in our industry, I honestly could not think of a single person or company. The input of this book made me first ask what is wrong with the housing industry and what can I do to change it. No matter what industry you're in this book asks great questions that makes you look at things from the inside out. Inside the book they talk about how Carmax has totally changed the many challenges that was negatively affecting the industry. The real estate industry needs a extreme change like what Carmax has done. I am in the process of implementing the processes that's recommended throughout the book. I very rarely feel so good about a book as I am with "They Ask You Answer" so I had to leave them a review. I have never been a person whom feels like they have to chase their business and am excited to come from an area of contribution and trust once again, thanks to the ideas that's laid out. Blessings-

Marketing can be a process of finding keys and magic wands to open up more sales. Or some are analytical and just think if I can just track my marketing then I know what is successful or not. Both common ways of thinking for business owners that are trying to market more sales each day.This book teaches you core, fundamental, commonly overlooked truths that set the foundation for any marketing campaign you decide to do, especially online in any form. You will find even the truth was inside your mind waiting to finally be set free and this book can do that for you. You will no longer see marketing as a complex or gamblers game of attracting sales through any all means until one way “just works” to stick to. But you will find your message and once you find your message and you will learn how to find the right customers you want. Now you just have to get that message in front of them and stick to that. Incredibly calming and peaceful experience for a hardened marketer that has tried a lot of ways to market their products, but is still open to learning and understanding that there could be more that they haven’t figured out or that they push away thinking it would never work.Exhilarating experience.

I purchased this book and the audio after I heard Marcus speak on Mind Valley. I have not finished is all but just the information I received in the first half touched the real me.Like most digital marketing agencies we spend so much time trying to get business owners to conform to us that we forget we are them. We spend time setting up mouse traps to get them to nibble they was time convicencing them on a service the may not need of may not want.I will be adjusting my business message to be like what Marcus speaks about. What he say touches my core values.I hate trying to figure out the next sales pitch or how am I going to answer this or that.My take away is if you align your business with the way you are and how you look for a product or service you cannot help but grow.Do note If you cannot handle or understand philosophy then this book is not for you. The book is about representing who you are. Simple and easy to implement in your business.

I'd always been hugely sceptical of content marketing. I'd always questioned how it was possible to use it as commercially-viable marketing strategy.Frankly, it'd always seemed like a domain for self-indulgent bloggers.Then I met Chris Marr and The Content Marketing Academy here in the UK.Why do I mention them? Well, Marcus Sheridan was a keynote speaker at their annual conference in 2016 (and will be again in 2017). And a lot of its members are converts to the "They Ask, You Answer" philosophy....And they're transforming their businesses' successes through it. Here... in the UK. So this isn't some US-fad.I wanted to find out why, and how was Marcus Sheridan playing a huge part in this success... And I discovered that Marcus Sheridan had recently published this book.And this isn't just another one of those high-profile US-based marketers publishing a bit of an ego-trip money-spinning books.It lays out, step-by-step, the entire philosophy and methodology he's used in his pools business and scores of other examples using the same methods. And these businesses are diligently going about answering their prospects' and customers' questions. This isn't the domain of "overnight success" (really, what ever is?), but about putting in long-term strategies that build the foundations of predictable, long-term success. And generating millions in extra sales every year.Google is here to stay and the way that we search for information before and as we buy things has changed forever.The "They Ask, We Answer" methodology is a phenomenal way to get on that train. I can imagine this becoming one of the handful of the read and re-read marketing how-to books in my collection.

Most marketing books are overblown, easily dated and written as if by a robot. This one take a single idea and turns it into a methodology that's so simple and easy to apply that I wondered why I'd never thought of it before, That's all I'm going to tell you. I'll let the scales fall from your eyes when you read it. Marcus Sheridan deserves every royalty penny he gets from the sale of this great book.

Marcus’s book distils the world of content marketing with examples from his own story and client case studies.Each chapter is crammed with easily digestible words of wisdom based on the basic tenet for the digital age: clients or customers ask you must answer.The internet has changed the way consumers buy products and services. Marketing and Sales need to be more closely aligned.If you are new to or struggling to understand why great relevant content will be a cornerstone of your present and future business success read this book.Marcus will give light up the path, not just for you but for your colleagues as well.I had the privilege of hearing Marcus speak in person at Inbound 2012 and 2015 in Boston. I have already implemented his mantra in my small law firm – clients ask we answer.Marcus is a great teacher. He implores us as if we were all his pupils to be the best teachers we can be so our customers/clients can enjoy a better experience. Educate, inform and entertain.The book, like Marcus, is knowledgeable, accessible and friendly.You can read the book in a few hours and certainly within a day.Heed Marcus’s “revolutionary” message and your business too could reap the rewards for years to come.

One of the most clearly argued strategies I've read for online marketing in many years. Marcus Sheridan clearly lays out an actually effective content marketing strategy and simultaneously teaches the theory while filling your notebook with practical actions to take immediately. This book has kick started our content project and we're incredibly optimistic about its success.For anyone concerned, I'd not heard of Marcus before, wasn't sent a free copy, nor have any reason to give a biased review like so many on Amazon Reviews these days.

I cannot remember how many books I have read on content marketing. None of them actually motivated me the way this book did. Simple and direct advice. It gives you the tools and confidence to do something about inbound marketing. A must read.