Ask An Expert: Chuck Anderson Build Your Business Through Cultivating Relationships-Ep:111

Hey welcome to she coaches coaches, I'm your host, Candy Motzek. And I'm going to help you find the clarity, confidence and courage to become the coach that you are meant to be. If you're a new coach, or if you've always wanted to be a life coach, then this is the place for you. We're going to talk all about mindset and strategies and how to, because step by step only works when you have the clarity, courage and confidence to take action. Let's get started. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of she coaches coaches, I am here with a really interesting guest, Chuck Anderson, he has been teaching affiliate marketing strategies for over 20 years. He's an investor and a marketing consultant that helps business owners create a network of referral partners and affiliates that will promote their products or programs in exchange for commissions or referral bonuses. So that's Chuck's official bio. But let me tell you a little bit more about him from my perspective. And if you're a she coaches, coaches listener, you know that I'd like to talk about the human, the human behind the official bio. So I met chuck a few months ago, and I'm in one of his programs. So I believe in what he's doing. And he is a real expert at this. And but what he doesn't know is that I've been observing him for these past few months. So there are three words that I would use to describe him. Genuine, brilliantly smart, and caring. Chuck is a real OG in the world of online business, and he isn't someone that's going to show up on your social media feed in the ads or those sponsored posts. In fact, he can be quite hard to find if you google him. But what I want you to know is this, you can be successful without a massive social media presence. You don't have to advertise to cold audiences, or do that god awful cold DMing you can do it in a different way. You can do it to create a business based on relationships, connection, strategic partnerships, and an emotion that is distinctly absent from many of the corporate worlds that were part of. And that emotion, there's actually three of them, empathy, loyalty, collaboration, and not just any collaboration, but collaboration from a true Win Win perspective. So let me introduce you to Chuck. Chuck, thank you so much for joining me today on she coaches, coaches.

Wow, candy, that is an amazing introduction. And this being a podcast, maybe you can't see me blushing right now. Because that, you know, definitely one of the best introductions I've had in a long time. You know, it's challenging sometimes where to live up to the introduction, but you know, that I really felt that that was heartfelt and amazing. So I think a great starting starting point for our, our conversation today.

Yeah, you're most welcome. You know what, I'm not gonna say anything. That is not what you already are. Right? Like, that's, that's what this is about. I want people to see the human side of it. Yeah, we talk about business. But this is we get to do business the way we want to. All right. So in your official bio, we talk about affiliate marketing and referral partners. And many of the listeners don't really know what that is, could you give us just sort of that primer? Like what exactly does that look like?

Yeah, I think that's a great question. And I, you know, I've been doing this so long that I sometimes assume that everybody knows what affiliate marketing is, and it's certainly not true. And so here's the best way to describe affiliate and there's two sides of it. Number one is as an affiliate, you can send a referral to somebody else's product or service or business. And if that referral becomes a customer, they pay you a commission or a referral fee. Right. And so, that's side number one side number two, is that if you have a referral program or a commission program, you can actually recruit affiliates or partners who will send you customers and when that are sending you referrals, and when that referral becomes a customer, you pay them a commission, or a referral fee, in exchange for that referral. And so I always like to ask people, especially as coaches and I think the latter of those scenarios are probably the most relevant are coaches because in all my years of coaching, a lot of coaches to do this, it's where's my next client coming from? Where, where, where am I going to get clients from? So imagine if I was to send you a client today, and that client signed up and they paid your fee? Would you pay me a percentage of that as a commission or a referral fee? Most people would say yes to that. And as an affiliate, that's going to incentivize me to send you even more customers and more referrals. So that is essentially what we mean by affiliate is like setting up the structure where you make it easy for people to send you new clients, and then to reward them by paying them a commission or a percentage of that fee as a commission.

Wow. And like far and above 80%, of the people that I meet that are new coaches, or experienced coaches, that is their prime challenge, how do I sign new clients? And so if you had somebody that you trusted, and that you knew that they liked to do business the way you did, you know, like this was a place where you could have a relationship where it was based on a similar Win Win approach, and that they would help you build your business, that would be like a dream come true for coaches, right?

Well, you know, and win win, I think is so important to coaches, if there's a common denominator in terms of the mindset, the attitude is that it must be Win Win, or I don't want to have any part of it. And, you know, unlike so many of the other ways to market yourself, to advertise, take Facebook ads, for example, that's not win win. That's Mark Zuckerberg wins, because you send him a boatload of money, you're hoping and praying that it's going to turn into clients, and, and revenue that exceeds what you paid in ADS? Sadly, that's not the case. And I can say that, as a former Facebook ads agency owner, sometimes it works. And sometimes it doesn't. It's one of the reasons why I got out of that business because that I don't view that as a win win. But if I send you a client, and not just because I want to make money, but I believe in your business, I believe in you. I've met someone who is a good fit for what you do. And I say, hey, candy. Meet Jennifer, Jennifer really needs I, you know, has been asking me and need some help. Can you help her out? Right? And of course, Kandi being the giver that you are, you're gonna be like, yes, Jennifer, come on, let's jump on a call. And let's talk about what you need. Now Jennifer becomes a client. It's great. And so then can we set that up to do that on a regular basis, right. And so when you have that in place, not only is it win win, because I'm doing a service to you, but also to Jennifer, because, right, you're both getting what you want, you want a new client, and she wants help from someone who knows what they're doing. And so there is a huge win win in that. And it's very authentic. And I would say, you know, where a referral like that is very likely to become a client, because there is that third party endorsement, and, and that very strong recommendation.

Yeah, so in that case, you've got the beginnings of trust, even before the person has come onto that Zoom call to meet with you. The way that I think that this is a really interesting approach is we always encourage coaches, you know, most coaches start as solopreneurs. And many of them start in doing one on one coaching. We encourage them to have a niche, you know, are you a parenting coach, or you're a relationship coach? Are you a financial coach? Are you a career coach, and so you may do your coach certification or your training with a whole group of people. And then at the end of it 30 or 40, or 50, people are all going to go and choose a different niche. Well, you already know those people. And if you meet somebody who needs some parenting coaching, but you're a relationship coach, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a way that you could help each other and, and I know that we said Win win, but it's actually three wins because the client wins, right? And the coach wins and the person who makes the recommendation or the referral also wins. And I think that's the way of business for the future. I think that there's a lot of potential still there.

Yeah, and you know, those types of Win Win Win relationships. It's not a new I mean, it's it's definitely we started doing it in 1998, with our very first affiliate program, not as a coach, but it was later on, we started doing this in coaching. And it was the thing that took away the struggle. And I think, what was it 2001 2002 Was my very first full time year as a coach. And I was speaking wherever I could, I was getting on stages wherever I could, and I would get a few clients. And some months were good. And some months were like, Oh, my God, if I don't get another client right now. Am I even going to continue doing this? Do I go look for a job? Do I? What do I do? And, and so the clients, there was no consistency to the flow. Sometimes there was too many, sometimes there wasn't enough, usually more the latter, right? That constant search for clients, and the this whole idea of, of having affiliates that refer clients. So it's one thing can be if I refer a client to you, because I know like and trust you. And I also know somebody who needs what you do. Even better if you can connect to a source where you can receive those referrals on a consistent basis. And it was that one thing that led me to some of the most profitable partnerships that I've had, but it was the key to consistency in my business. And like right now, I am going on my 11th year of one of my partnerships, where they have sent me probably two or three clients a month, consistently for over 10 years. And we don't have a website, we don't have a social media presence, we don't have any of those things. What we have is a relationship of based on trust. And you know, that trust is irreplaceable. They're not shopping around to see if they can earn more money referring to another coach, they send them to me because like you said, this is a it's a trust relationship, you're not going to just refer your clients to anyone because of money. It's got to be because you especially in coaching, Oh, yeah. Trust who you are referring someone to?

Yeah. And so I mean that this word of trust, long term relationship, those are so important, especially, you know, from the perspective of a coach. But one other word that you said earlier that really stuck with me, and it's this word consistent, right? You think about the number of talented coaches in the world who quit, because they can't create a consistent business, they can't have that steady flow of clients. And it squishes the joy out of coaching, if that's the case, right. And so when you think about what might be possible for talented coaches, maybe instead of, I don't know what the attrition rate is, but so maybe the attrition rate is 80% or 75%. And if you could shift that attrition rate, to 50% or 40%, you would have a heck of a lot more coaches living their dream. You'd have people living the life that they want to live. And you'd have not just that, it's not just about them, it's about their families to like, you know, what's it like when your kids come home and you're feeling satisfied and happy? Well, it changes everything in your relationship with your family compared to when you're burned out and frazzled, and all that jazz, right? Like it has a real far reaching effect.

Yeah, and I think a lot of coaches get into coaching because they want that lifestyle. They want to be more available for their family, they would like to live life by design. And rather than be obligated to go to a job every day and sit at that desk and so many coaches that I've met are people who used to do that wanted to get out desperately, but they're also more than that. They're, they're people who are in service. Usually there's some story of pain and healing. That was their origin story, which inspired them to want to be in service and help others and in doing so, there is an amazing gift that that into Visual coach has, even if there's other coaches in their niche market, there's no one who does it quite like they do. There's no one who can be who they are. And, and I believe that the clients who are meant to work with that coach, you know, though those are the ones that are, are going to end up signing up. And so we want to make it as easy as possible for those people to find that coach, there's no bigger tragedy in this industry than when an amazing person with a giver, someone who's in service of others, someone who has an amazing gift that can, that is life changing, being taken out of this industry, because they simply could not get clients. You know, they were blessed to maybe coach a few, they love it, they couldn't find the consistency, and then maybe burned out by doing the desperate things that coaches do. And that is I really need clients. So I'm gonna go hire this agency, or I'm gonna go run ads on Facebook or Google or YouTube and all all the things that you hear. And and then they sadly, lat lose their last few $1,000 They lose their desire to be in this business. And then sadly, a gift that the world had is no it that gift is no longer available.

Yeah, so it sounds like, you know this, the way that you run your business, and the approach to business allows people to stay in coaching in the different businesses that you may impact so that they can live the life that they choose to live the life that they're meant to live and use their gifts. It's an amazing, it's an amazing thing. Right? Really amazing.

Wow, I think what really takes people out is that lack of consistency, because at the end of the day, I mean, you have to take care of your family, there is that I don't think anyone comes a coach because they want to become a gazillionaire. Although I do know, some, you know, maybe not gazillionaires, but definitely some millionaire coaches, right. But in my conversations with them, nobody really became a coach because of the money. They became a coach because of their desire to serve and help others. And the only difference between a coach just starting out and a millionaire coach is that they've discovered the millionaire coaches discovered how to communicate their message, they've been able to really figure out, you know, how to enroll clients, and they have the consistent lead flow in their business, such that it sustains a seven figure business. And it's the lack of consistency that I think takes people out when you when you can't make even the basic amount of money to, you know, at least cover your lifestyle. If you're funding it out of savings, or if you've depleted your savings, it's gonna take you out. And this is why, you know, Facebook ads and Google ads and YouTube ads, they're not for beginners, right now, like if you're not already making seven figures, and you're thinking about running Facebook ads, Google ads, or YouTube ads, stop thinking about it, because that's not what you need. There are so many sources of clients, that if you were to plug into them, you couldn't handle the lead flow that that that would come from them. And, you know, one of the one of the things that we've really found so we've been talking about affiliates and referrals, when you have that in place, the next thing is well, where do I find people to? You know, send me referrals. And so my might think about, you know, spamming people on LinkedIn. Hey, candy, nice to connect with you on LinkedIn. I think I would really love to receive referrals from you and I'll gladly pay you 20% For any referrals that you send me my referral partner, and Kenny's gonna go, delete we all received these nonsense messages, right? And a I question anybody who does that on a consistent basis does that actually work? I another day goes by where someone on LinkedIn or Facebook tries that with me. And I'm like, Really, that's not connection don't want to connect. But, um, we have to find ways to connect with partners without spamming them on their email and their social media accounts. And in And this is where Kandi and I met as well, we what we've discovered is as being fellow podcasters, is that the podcast is the easiest way to meet potential referral partners, and inviting them to be on your show. So if you don't have a show already, you should probably have a show, just for this reason. So you don't have to spam people on Facebook and LinkedIn to get clients. Instead, you send them a message saying, Hey, would you like to be on my podcast? And you know what? Nobody ever says no to that.

Exactly. Actually, I did have one person say no. But that was a it was a complete surprise. But that's okay.

You're allowed to have one. That's 99.9%. That's pretty good. So it's

interesting. And I don't know if the listener if you can hear this or not, but there's a dog barking outside. And so yeah, this is part of life. Sometimes there's a dog barking next door, and it's just the way it goes. So we've talked about referral partners, we've talked about the value of it. And one of the things that you said earlier, Chuck, that I hope that the listeners heard is barely a website, barely a social media presence. And so how much time and energy would you save instead of putting up lots and lots of social media posts, if instead, you invested that into creating relationships, partnerships, perhaps having a podcast, perhaps guesting on podcasts, and creating a long term consistent business? Like it's a totally different approach to how you spend your time in business? And so could you talk just a little bit more about that?

Well, I could talk all day about that, but I will keep it brief. First of all, about the website, there's only three pages on my website, there's the homepage that tells you who I am and how I help. And then there's a Contact page where you can schedule a call with me. And then there's a free resource that you can, you can register for. And those are the only three pages I have on my website. I didn't have to spend $10,000, hiring an agency to make flashy spinny things and all the fancy designs on a website. It's very, very simple. I built it with free tools, and it does the job. It's just a place to connect people. So when I'm on podcasts when I'm on stage, when whenever I'm being asked, Hey, what's your website? I can tell people where that where to go with that? Do I post on social media? Very, very rarely. And I have been, I've been in rooms in masterminds where people swear, it's like, oh, yeah, you, if you post on Facebook four times a day, or post on Twitter, or 10 times a day, or Instagram, multiple times a day, you're gonna get all these clients, you know, and it just hasn't been true for me. We even did a Facebook Live every week, religiously, every week for almost nine months. And, you know, still with single digit engagement, not a single client that I could attribute back to that. So it comes back to connection, and how do we use that. So now we use a Facebook Live or a podcast as a way to meet new potential referral partners. Either we refer clients to them, or they refer clients to us or vice versa. And usually we try to do both. But we don't need much more than that one page website. I don't post on social media, other than maybe announcing my guests episodes. And usually I only do that on LinkedIn, because honestly, I I don't get the engagement on my other platforms. Some people are really good on Instagram. Some people are really good on Facebook by following us on LinkedIn. And so I publish my episodes there as a service to my guests. But I'm not doing a whole lot of outreach. I'm not messaging people, other than maybe replying to messages that that are worth replying to. There really isn't that present. I don't have to constantly come up with content. So I have my website. I have my clients that I'm already serving. And when I'm not doing that, I'm either interviewing people for my podcast, which is a potential new partnership. Or I'm being a guest on other people's podcasts like we're doing right now.

Exactly. Wow. So this topic is one that we could talk about all day for sure. But I think that that gives everybody an idea. And I'm hoping listeners that you're listening to this and going, Wait a minute, this is a different approach. This is something that could be really interesting. So Chuck, I'm so appreciative that you were here and that you shared all of your wisdom with us. For people who really want to find out more, how can they find out more about you? What would you suggest?

Well, couple things. Number one is go to my website, Chuck Anderson coaching.com. You mentioned before you can Google me and there's about 1000 Chuck Anderson's, but if you type in cut Chuck Anderson coaching, it comes up right at the top. And so Chuck Anderson coaching.com. And look, if you have a coaching program, and you're looking for referrals, reach out to me, we have a lot of podcasts that we can get you on. And that could be potential referrals. Heck, maybe you can even be on my show, and I'll send you some clients. So so it's a great place to start reach out to me. And if you need sort of some help putting affiliate program together or deciding how much to pay for commissions, and you know, even how to find affiliates. Let's chat and you can book a 20 minute call with me. And we will we'll just see if this strategy is a good fit for you. And if you like the idea of of doing an affiliate commission or doing a referral fee, I do have a free gift for you. Is it okay

to share If yes, please share your free gift. So

we have something called the affiliate commission calculator. And so if you want to just play around with the numbers, and you want to figure out okay, here's my coaching package, here's some percentages that I could pay as a referral fee. And and then just really run the numbers and see how many referrals you would need to earn or if you received a certain number of referrals, how much would you earn, how much would you have to pay out and commissions and and just kind of play around with the concept, you can get my free affiliate commission calculator, and it's fun to play with you plug in some numbers and see what happens.