"There is no more respected relationship expert in my circles than Ken Blackman..."
"I learned as much in that one session as I had learned in a year of group classes…"
"He is a role model for standing up as a grown-up successful male in our culture…"
"Ken Blackman understands women’s bodies better than most of us do ourselves…"
I'm good at what I do. That isn't the problem. The problem is, for most of my career I've been spared the need to ever market, sell, or even talk about myself. There were always others filling that role, and I could just focusing on coaching and teaching.
Which was a good thing, because I was comically, in fact famously, bad at it. As good a coach and instructor as I was, when I would participate in the marketing events, sales would drop. Training and coaching is simply a different skillset from marketing and sales.
Well, five years ago I separated from my business partners and took matters into my own hands. I'll tell ya the learning curve has been surprisingly slow and difficult. I've done decently, purely through referrals and reputation, and I feel good about that. (Again, others doing a much better job at selling me than I am at selling myself!)
But when it became time to scale, time to create a consistent, thriving business, I didn't seem to be pulling it off. And I couldn't identify why. I couldn't figure out what it was I wasn't getting. As a coach I can recognize when something is more of a mental block than anything else. That didn't mean I could just mindset my own way out of it, alone.
What's amazing about Marisa's Experience Product Masterclass is how thorough and complete it is. For other participants, those who needed to identify what it was they were bringing to the world, and EPM helped them with that. For me, the work we did on messaging shifted everything for me. So did the simple, highly effective, high-integrity marketing approaches. I didn't have to do anything other than what already comes natural to me, and yet I feel like I know what to do.
And as for the program I'm offering, I was able to take it far beyond good content. What makes a great design? What brings about a feeling of flow among the participants? What leads to high success rate on their part? What gets them to their goals? These are all things I learned to take my program from good to fantastic.
This is a system I can replicate. I now feel like I know how to design, market, sell, and host any kind of program I feel called to offer. I have so many ideas, I'm excited for the next one!
What is your biggest takeaway from EPM?
Oh there are several. If I set aside the embarrassment of riches of all the components we learned how to do... I'd say, again and again and again, it was the reminder that it wasn't a forever choice, just a now choice. That it was going to shift and change, and that part of the process of getting to the improved version I aspire to is to run with the current version I have.
How did EPM help you become successful?
1. By including all the components, all the necessary ingredients, and doing such a good job explaining each one. Most programs are either broad and have modules that are hardly more than placeholders... or they do one topic extremely well. EPM doesn't take on anything it can't explain really well, but it includes everything necessary.
2. The ordering of lessons didn't make sense... until it did. And then it was brilliant. Very well designed in that sense.
3. It modeled what it was teaching.
4. Plenty of support was available to make sure I got my questions answered, but even more importantly, to get the feedback I needed on what I was doing to really dial it in. Key for me personally, because of my big imbalance between my extensive experience running workshops and my lack of experience in marketing, was module 4.
How has EPM and your success impacted your life?
I feel confident that I can replicate this. I feel confident that I understand everything that's needed. There used to be an ambient doubt, a kind of standing I-don't-know... or even worse, I-don't-know-what-I-don't-know... that's no longer there, and noticeable for its absence.
What has been the biggest change in your business?
I believe I have the basis for consistency of income. That allows me to turn my attention to the long term vision of what I want to create, what I want to bring to the world, rather than always focusing on the urgency of firefighting and managing the immediate term fluctuations.
What are you most excited about moving forward with your Experience Product? Ten couples fundamentally shifting how they think about their own relationship, and stepping out into the world as examples for others of what's possible.
Is there anything else you would like to add? Big thanks and bravo. And also, thank you for setting an inspiring example as a messenger bringing something to the world yourself.