National President Mark LeBlanc Stresses Focus

by Jason Kotecki, Champion of Childhood
Professional Member

Mark LeBlanc finished up his year-long tour of NSA chapters as national president with a visit to NSA-WI last Thursday. For those of you who missed it, you missed a phenomenal program. Here are just a few of the golden nuggets he shared:

Focus on One Thing
Early in his career, Mark’s daily to-do list was impacted largely by what he felt like working on when he woke up in the morning. One day he’d work on his keynote program. The next day, he’d start on a book project. The day after that, he’d focus on his Achiever’s Circle weekend events. His growth was steady, but slow. Then he decided to focus exclusively on one core aspect of his business — speaking. What he discovered was that by focusing on one profit center, he did better in all four. His advice: The more focused you are, the easier everything else becomes. Drive one of your core profit centers to the moon, and the rest will come along for the ride.

Don’t Be Afraid of Free Speeches
Lots of veteran speakers run away from free speeches. But Mark has been doing at least one free speech a month his entire career and says he’ll never stop. He uses them as a marketing strategy. His key is that he speaks for free only to targeted groups, comprised of people that need to hear his specific message and could be in the position to hire him. And most of these speeches are to groups that typically don’t have a budget for speakers.

Tap Into Your Advocates
Another marketing strategy Mark shared was his “Advocate Strategy.” Here’s how it works: Make a list of the 25 most important people in your life that are in a position to impact your business. Stay in touch with each of them once every 30 days. Send them an article, a cartoon, or a personal letter that gives them value and lets them know you’re thinking of them. Be creative, keep it short, and don’t let the focus be on YOU. Maintaining these relationships can make a giant difference to your bottom line.

Mark also gave us a taste of the upcoming national convention in August, which is being held in New York City. This year’s theme is NSA Rocks, and they’re pulling out all the stops. He promised it would be a convention experience for the ages, with a roster of awesome presenters and a slew of surprises. In fact, he guaranteed that one of the surprises, scheduled for Tuesday morning, would literally make us stop breathing. The convention is slated for August 2-5 at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square. Get all of the event details here.