Joint Ventures with Hosts with Mark Willis

In our final installment of our December client feature series on Rock the Podcast, we’re rebroadcasting a live testimonial interview with Mark Willis!

Mark Willis is a man on a mission to help you think differently about your money, your economy and your future. After graduating with six figures of student loan debt and discovering a way to turn his debt into real wealth as he watched everybody lose their retirement savings and home equity in 2008, he knew that he needed to find a more predictable way to meet his financial objectives and those of his clients.

Mark is a Certified Financial Planner™, a two-time #1 Best Selling Author and the Owner of Lake Growth Financial Services, a financial firm in Chicago, Illinois. Over the years, he has helped hundreds of his clients take back control of their financial future and build their businesses with proven, tax-efficient financial solutions. He specializes in building custom-tailored financial strategies that are unknown to typical stock-jockeys, attorneys, or other financial gurus. 

As co-host of the Not Your Average Financial Podcast™, he shares some of his strategies for investing in real estate, paying for college without going broke, and creating an income in retirement you won’t outlive. Mark works with people who want to grow their wealth in ways that are safe and predictable, to become their own source of financing, and create tax-free income in retirement.

Mark says that Interview Connections has been like rocket-fuel for his business! He likens the team here to the person at a party who always introduces you to the best people at the party. Mark’s business has been having “good problems.” He’s having problems getting people on his calendar - he’s booked out over 6 weeks! Mark has had to hire additional associates to take care of all the new leads and clients he’s been getting from podcast guesting.

Mark worked one-on-one with us at Interview Connections to construct a great call to action for Mark to use on podcasts. After simplifying his CTA, Mark has seen hundreds of leads come to his business from podcast interviews. He also worked with the team here on perfecting his green-room chat. Mark knows just how important those minutes before and after the actual interview are!

One of the best results Mark has seen from podcast guesting, is the opportunity to work on joint ventures with the podcast hosts he’s connected with. During the green room chats, Mark likes to have “storm starters” with the hosts, where he will brainstorm ways that they can work together. Examples of these opportunities include a live Facebook Q&A, a collaborative workshop, and even co-authoring a book together! 

Podcast guesting is an incredible lead generation tool, and Mark knows that your relationship with the host is a major factor. Mark always lets the host shine on their own show, and is incredibly respectful of the host and their audience. He explains that the host has already built trust with their audience, so your guest appearance on the show is already being presented in a favorable light.

Mark feels that getting yourself booked on podcasts is not all that difficult. However, what Interview Connections has done for Mark is get him on the right shows! From the last 13 shows that we have booked Mark on, he has met 68 potential clients. That averages five potential clients per show! Out of those last 13 shows, Mark has worked with 8 of the hosts in a joint venture!

As a financial advisor, Mark always recommends long-term steady investments, and podcast guesting is no different. Podcast guesting is a steady investment in your capacity to tell a story, and partnering up with people who can introduce you to the right people in the room is absolutely a proven path to success. The people who stick with it are the ones with the most success! 

If you’re an entrepreneur, the most important asset in your portfolio is your business! It’s imperative to make smart investments for that business. As entrepreneurs, our opportunities for in-person networking events are very limited, and there is no better time to start leveraging virtual networking! 

Mark ends the interview discussing the importance of a growth mindset, and ensuring that you surround yourself with other entrepreneurs that embrace a growth mindset!