School marketing podcast #34: John Jantsch Pt 1 of 2 - guest interview with @ducttape #ducttapeselling

I’m so excited to finally have the opportunity to interview John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing!  John has been a marketing mentor of mine since I was invited to join the global network of Duct Tape Marketing consultants in 2007. At the time of this episode (May 2014), John is launching his 4th book, “Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer, Sell Like a Superstar“.  When I heard John was going to be launching this book, I reached out to him and asked if he would join me for this podcast and he graciously accepted.

I know that many in the Admissions community may not enjoy thinking of themselves as “selling”.  I do not pretend to equate what you do with that of a traditional salesman, I do think there is a similar function inside the organization. One premise of John’s book is that any disconnect or tension that has previously existed between sales and marketing, should no longer keep a business, nonprofit or school from adopting a new look at marketing and sales. In many schools, you may wear every single hat of communication, online presence, admissions and PR. But in many schools, the marketing arm is run by board members, the web/IT folks, a group of volunteers or a conglomerate of all of these players (where everyone considers their job as “marketing” yet no one is talking to the other!)

BUY JOHN’S BOOK – DUCT TAPE SELLING

My interview was so good that I decided to split this interview into a 2-part series so we could continue our unique 14-minute/29-second podcast format.  In this first episode, I ask John a few simple questions about:

  • How do admission personnel serve both as marketers and salespeople?
  • What are the key elements of selling and how has this changed over the years?
  • How does this impact our relationship building with prospective families?
  • What is the role of social media in relationship building with current and prospective students and families
  • What has replaced the traditional pitching and promoting our “billboard and brochure” mentality?
  • What roles does storytelling play in this new way of marketing and selling in the school environment?
  • How do schools incorporate content marketing, SEO and social media into local search?
  • What kind of content should a school produce to effectively reach our ideal prospective family?

See our shownotes at the conclusion of this post for details, links, and other resources that we may have mentioned in this episode.

SHOWNOTES:

    1. Buy John’s book, “Duct Tape Selling” on Amazon!
    2. Resource page – yourschoolmarketing/ducttapeselling
    3. Follow John on Twitter (@ducttape)
    4. Visit John’s blog (www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog)
    5. Like John on Facebook
    6. Why a systematic approach of marketing is best for your Christian school
    7. Randy Vaughn’s profile on the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network
    8. See below or click here for more PODCAST episodes.
    9. Download our FREE ebooks (see bottom of page)
    10. Suggest a TOPIC or GUEST for the school marketing podcast.
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    14. Subscribe to the school marketing podcast.

 

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