Episode 093: Brian Kurtz – Overdelivering for Your Clients

As a service-based business, you are expected to deliver on your marketing message. If you promise a certain level of attention to detail and care, then you have to follow through. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with dissatisfied customers and a brand message that will fall flat.

Fortunately, the best way to avoid that problem is to overdeliver. On today’s episode of the 6 to 7 Figures Podcast, I’m talking with Brian Kurtz, the champion of over-delivery. In fact, he literally wrote the book on it.

In this episode, we discuss the value of over-delivery and how customer service is the backbone of your marketing strategy. Highly satisfied customers are not only going to keep coming back for more, but they will refer your business and hype you up to everyone they know, which can build a massive network in a short amount of time.

Playing the Long Game

So, why is over-delivery so crucial for your business? Well, if you’re playing the short game, you may think that it’s not worthwhile. After all, you’re giving too much away and not getting enough in return (i.e., a sale). However, according to Brian, you can’t be thinking that way. Assuming that you want your business to succeed and thrive well into the future, you need to be planning for the long term.

Overdelivering is the best way to build a loyal following that will come back over and over again. Also, creating a stronger brand reputation is going to help your bottom line a lot more than just raising your prices or cutting costs.

Ascension vs. Descension

One segment that Brian talks about in this episode is how he moved from working at Boardroom.com to running masterminds on direct marketing. His time at Boardroom helped him understand the value of over-delivery and how to do it the right way. All too often, companies believe that the best method of over-delivery is to throw a ton of bonuses on top of the product (quantity). However, it’s much better to focus your attention on those add-ons that create value for the customer. One well-crafted bonus is worth more than five or 10 unrelated ones.

But getting back to Brian’s transition. For most businesses, they work on an ascension model. They start by selling a product or service for a certain price and then start charging more as they build and grow the brand. We’re more than familiar with it, as that’s the whole point of our show – growing a business from six to seven figures.

For Brian, however, he chose a descension model. He started by crafting a truly remarkable mastermind, pulling from the resources and experience he gained at Boardroom.com. That mastermind cost $25,000. It was certainly worth the price, but he got so many notices from clients and leads that the number was too high.

So, Brian created a one-time event, and from that, he developed a second mastermind that only cost $15,000, minus the cost of that event. This way, he was able to help more people and build his audience that much faster, all without sacrificing quality or delivery.

Recently, he’s developed a third mastermind, a $200-per-month subscription where clients get access to Brian and all of these resources he’s accumulated over the years. If you want to talk about over-delivery, this mastermind is a prime example. Even though he’s making less per person, the value is so great that no one would ever choose to cancel. If anything, he’ll be able to grow his audience and become even more successful.

Overall, that’s the core concept of Brian’s message – if you’re playing the long game, you can use a descension or ascension model. Let your audience guide the process and tell you what they want, and use that as your path to success.

We talk about a lot of great stuff in this episode, so be sure to check it out here. You can also read more about Brian’s message of over-delivery at overdeliverbook.com. In true Brian fashion, buying the book also gets you a ton of bonuses, so be sure to get a copy ASAP. Beyond the book, he has a website, briankurtz.net, with tons of free information as well.

Brian Kurtz has had two careers. 

The first spanned 34 years as a force behind Boardroom Inc., an iconic publisher and direct marketer. 

During that time, he was mentored by, and worked with, a who’s who of marketing legends (who he owes everything to). 
And more specifically, he worked side-by-side with the most prolific copywriters who have ever lived.

His second career, which he is five years into as the Founder of Titans Marketing, is a direct marketing educational and coaching company where he has also continued working with the best-of-the-best.

Titans Marketing is known for two (soon to be three) mastermind groups, an array of classic books and swipe files Brian has re-published and created…and he is the author of two books himself.

His most recent book is Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing. It is his opus (but not a memoir).

His first book, The Advertising Solution, profiles six legends of advertising and copywriting including Gene Schwartz and Gary Halbert.

As a business-to-consumer marketer at Boardroom, Brian was responsible for selling over a billion dollars’ worth of products “$39 at a time” to millions.

As a business-to-business marketer with Titans Marketing, he has sold over $5 million worth of products (and services) to thousands, enabling them to spread the gospel about direct marketing to millions.

During both careers, he has been a serial direct marketer, with a foundation in the eternal truths and fundamentals of direct response…while being committed to “overdelivering” over almost four decades.

Transcript

TBD