How to Get in Touch

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We Covered

• How Norman became obsessed with his landing page copy (01:15)
• Why overly aggressive marketing is such a turnoff (04:45)
• There’s a parallel between the role relatability plays in the success of interpersonal relationships and the success of the landing page (06:39)
• The high-level steps to create highly relatable landing page copy (09:57)
• How to craft the story of your landing page (15:32)
• An example of how to use a spiky point of view (18:21)
• How to make the jump from your first landing page being essentially guesswork to the second iteration of your landing page which can be informed by customers? (19:48)
• The importance of using the exact words your customers use and combining your own voice with the expectations of your customers (22:47)
• How long you’ve been running your CBC will determine how much you learn from your customers (27:34)
• The questions you can ask your customers at the end of the cohort to elicit the information you need to make changes on your landing page (29:47)
• The process to update the landing page after you collect feedback from customers (32:09)
• It’s okay to challenge the norm and to be creative (36:44)
• How to know when you should stop making changes to the landing page (41:39)
• Final questions (44:28)

Step By Step

1. Expect that your landing page won’t be highly relatable on the first iteration. If you’re running your first cohort, your landing page will be a best guess of the information and personality that your customers are looking for. Stay humble, matey!
2. Look at comparitors, not just competitors. Get inspired by landing pages outside of the CBC world and outside your industry, model what you love the most, and put in the effort to make it your own.
3. Make your landing page a story. It shouldn’t be a desperate sales pitch. It should present the information in the order customers need and with a style that excites them.
4. While your cohort is happening and after your cohort is finished, collect information from your members that you can use to improve your landing page
5. Keep iterating on step 4!

How To Keep in Touch

• Norman & Stephanie
  • Relating Between The Lines
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Website

Resources Mentioned

• The Thought Leaders Practice - by Ben Church
• Keystone Accelerator - by Billy Broas
• Thinking in Stories - by Lawrence Yeo
• Tiago Forte’s email list

We Covered

• The big picture and 7 red bags that illustrate the context around testimonials in buying decisions (01:24)
• Bag 1: The problem, why the problem is important to address, and why it’s not a negative thing (07:06)
• Bag 2: The solution, and how the solution is the mirror image of the problem (12:25)
• Bags 3 & 4: Target profile & objections (13:57)
• Bag 5: Reverse testimonials, and the critical role they play in buyer psychology (17:11)
• The six questions to ask your customers to elicit the information you need to construct a reverse testimonial (31:31)
• The high-level process to construct a reverse testimonial (42:19)
• Final questions (45:44)

In a Nutshell

1. Reverse testimonials provide the before & after picture necessary to squash objections
2. To construct them, record individual video conversations with your customers on video, transcribe the recording, and edit the transcription into testimonials of various sizes, following a before & after structure with a supporting narrative. See this article for step-by-step detail on how to follow this process and construct reverse testimonials.
   
   

How to Get in Touch

• Sean D’Souza
  • Podcast
  • PsychoTactics.com
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Website

Resources Mentioned

• The Brain Audit

We Covered

• How Lucia become interested in trauma informed collaboration (01:28)
• How CBC creators & facilitators can benefit from learning about trauma informed collaboration (04:08)
• A concrete example of what a trauma response might look like (05:55)
• How to distinguish a regular response from a trauma response (09:23)
• The three types of trauma responses (12:24)
• How to become aware of your own trauma responses so you can calm the situation rather than ignite it (16:08)
• Triggers and how to be aware of them (19:28)
• How measuring engagement metrics can cause a trauma response (31:04)
• More tips on how to prevent trauma responses (33:45)
• Final questions (42:19)

In a Nutshell

1. A cohort member may express trauma in any of its three forms: fight, flight, freeze
2. If you identify a trauma response, don’t react. Instead, respond. Your job is to calm the situation.
3. Take preventative measures. For example, always give members permission to omit themselves from the group conversation.

How to Get in Touch

• Lucia Die Gil
  • GreaterThan.works
  • LinkedIn
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CohortCaptain.com

Resources Mentioned

• Matthieu Ricard: Happiness

We Covered

• Why Bradley decided to turn from working for Uber and then to 1:1 consulting and then to creating a cohort-based course (02:16)
• Consulting and CBCs make sense for different professionals based on their goals (03:28)
• Why overcoming fear, honing your niche, and setting your value-based pricing are the three key components of switching to independent work (09:22)
• Why so many professionals are interested in working on their own (11:30)
• What to expect when you start working independently (13:06)
• Whether it’s best to start your own business on the side or quit and work on it full-time (19:24)
• Why you should write down your goals and have no regrets (21:50)
• How to pick your niche (25:33)
• How to set your value-based pricing (37:41)
• Final questions (48:07)

In a Nutshell

1. Expect to “get rejected” by prospective customers, but know that you only need a small percent to buy from you to hit your goals.
2. Set your niche: I specialize in X based on my experience doing X for Z company.
3. Set your value-based pricing by picking a number that seems a bit high.

How to Get in Touch

• Bradley Jacobs
  • MyLance.co
  • LinkedIn
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CohortCaptain.com

We Covered

• How Jesse and Tucker met and decided to create their cohort-based course (02:21)
• The core of what Tucker and Jesse teach (08:18)
• Being a really good CBC creator is being 50% educator, 50% entertainer (11:14)
• In what aspects of your CBC you can be entertaining (13:30)
• How to begin writing a joke (18:50)
• An example of how to turn mundane truths into humor (22:51)
• How to apply humor to your CBC (25:57)
• Steps to craft an analogy to explain a complex concept in a way that’s easy to understand (29:40)
• Creativity is connecting two things. You get an emotional response when connecting two things that don’t at first appear to be connected. (37:14)
• The close connection between comedy, poetry, and other art forms (38:46)
• How to make your existing CBC entertaining (41:58)
• Final questions (44:52)

In a Nutshell

1. Being a rockstar CBC creator means being 50% educator, 50% entertainer
2. Take any element of your business whether it’s the course content, your blog, or the way you interact during group calls, and infuse it with:

• Comedy: Anticipate where students have expectations, and subvert their expectation
• Poetry: Explain difficult concepts using analogies

How to Get in Touch

• Tucker Bryant
  • From Idea to Ovation
  • LinkedIn
• Jesse Warren
  • From Idea to Ovation
  • Instagram
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CohortCaptain.com

We Covered

• How Rotem got interested in serving CBC creators (01:49)
• The biggest problems Rotem sees in the creator space and why facilitating a cohort is the solution (04:55)
• How Rotem began to address these problems in her app (09:18)
• How to begin facilitating an environment where members feel like they are in it together (13:04)
• The number one thing a facilitator must do (21:34)
• How to create a safe environment where members are willing to share their struggles (26:14)
• How to structure the cohort in a way that encourages members to share their struggles (30:47)
• Other ways to give members the space to share their struggles (34:10)
• How to involve other members in conversations so you’re not the only one responding to questions and things (37:48)
• Final questions (40:12)

In a Nutshell

1. Without facilitation, members won’t get the support they need to get the promised result of the cohort-based course
2. The number one thing a facilitator must do is create a safe environment where members feel at liberty to share their struggles vulnerably and to seek help from the facilitator and other members
3. To create a space where members feel free to voice their struggles…
   1. Start by opening up about how you used to share the same struggle
   2. Center the group coaching conversations around solving their problems
   3. Encourage members to ask questions inside the community
   4. Know your members well enough to tag them into conversations they can help with
   5. Trust the principle of reciprocity. If a member receives from another member, they’ll want to pay it forward

How to Get in Touch

• Rotem Carmely
  • Email: Rotem@GetClustered.app
  • Transcend Network community
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • GetClustered.app
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CohortCaptain.com

Resources Mentioned

• Brene Brown’s books
• Transcend Network

We Covered

• How Shunyao got started with helping non-native English speakers to improve their communication (01:17)
• Shunyao paints a picture of what it’s like to communicate more effectively with the cohort (06:24)
• Why concise communication is so important (08:03)
• Examples of concise communication and how to do it (10:10)
• Email is another area where concise communication is important (13:54)
• Another communication tip is structuring your message (14:41)
• How to get the data you need from customers to structure your message using sales calls (16:45)
• How to frame your message by anchoring on the problem (17:53)
• Why it’s best to give generously rather than pitch a sale (22:40)
• Another communication tip is to improve the feedback you deliver (25:09)
• How to provide specific feedback and avoid being vague (26:51)
• How to deliver positive feedback that feels genuine (27:53)
• How to get on the same page before delivering feedback (29:41)
• It matters where you deliver the feedback (32:56)
• Another communication tip helps to facilitate the cohort by doing warm-ups and clarifying goals (34:01)
• Final questions (37:14)

In a Nutshell

1. Use concise communication to avoid cognitive overload
2. Structure your message by anchoring on the problem to grab attention
3. Provide genuinely positive and negative feedback by getting on the same page and then being specific using examples
4. Use warm-ups, and clarify goals to facilitate your cohort more effectively

How to Get in Touch

• Shunyao Li
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CommunicateAtWork.org
• Jonathan (host)
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • CohortCaptain.com

Resources Mentioned

• Maven
• Circle
• SPI Pro