SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, and Privet!I'm really excited to be with you again today. I have a very, very special guests... It's Linda Prado, and she is a Marketing Expert and Business Mentor. Welcome, Linda... 

LINDA: Hi, thank you for having me. It's so exciting... 

SAMIA: Yes! I'm really, really happy that we connected. And you know, I'm just going to invite you first of all to tell us more about who you are and what you do...

LINDA: Okay, excellent. So as you already introduced me a little bit that I'm all about marketing... I'm a marketing expert and a business mentor. And I've been in luxury marketing for nearly a decade now. And now I've worked with coaches and online service providers who want to attract premium clients and sell high ticket offers... And when we go even deeper with this, then I would say I'm in this world to lead a movement of self-led, soul-guided leaders who are paving their own paths to success, have so much to say, and they desire to speak up and use their bold voice to make an impact... So that's my mission. And a little bit more personal about me... I'm also a digital nomad for the last 16 years. So as you can guess, I value freedom life a lot... And I'm again hustle, against the hustle mode... And today, we will be speaking more about high tickets. So I have mentioned that I've also created my affluent marketing framework so that I can escape the hustle and continue living my freedom life... 

SAMIA: I love it, you're definitely speaking to the right group of people here because we are a community of changemakers... we are committed to not only changing our lives but changing the world... And you know, I know my tribe… they're very heart-centered, soul-led... So you are talking to the right right group of people and your emphasis of freedom... I love that. I love that. I think we can all use more freedom and it's one of the most fundamental needs that I think we all have as human beings. So it's amazing...

LINDA: For sure, for sure... I've always felt that I need to be like on my own… for example, that's the reason why I'm an entrepreneur... I tried to do full-time jobs and I always felt like I was in prison, literally, and I got depressed... everything went sideways. So yes, I'm preaching freedom life... And even if we enter the entrepreneurship, it's not the… that we replaced our nine-to-five… we truly can create the reality of working less and making tons of money. 

SAMIA: Yes... oh my gosh, that is so key… because I know so many entrepreneurs who are terrible bosses to themselves... They actually work more hours than if they were working in a nine-to-five job. And they usually give themselves terrible pay and terrible benefits...And so, I so agree with you, I share your values... And that's why I was so I attracted to your framework of affluent marketing... And I would love for you to tell us more about it. What's the framework? What are the different parts of it...

LINDA: Yes, absolutely. Oh, I'm so passionate about this… it's going to be juicy... So the whole thing of affluent marketing is to sign premium clients… and premium clients doesn't always mean that they necessarily just come with the money... They are type of clients who will do the work, who will act from their higher self, and it's going to be a joy of working with them, and also to make high ticket sales... And before I dive more into briefly the in the framework, I also want to bust some myths about high ticket sales... So we know what we are dealing here and how cool this is. Because we've been told so many things… what we need in order to make sales... no matter it's high ticket low ticket… but it's like people are burning out in the DM's… and I'm not talking about those lames strategies because there are legit strategies that work... But I've done those and I've burnt out, I've got migraines... Also you don't need to remove limiting beliefs to start making money... mindset is super important but it has nothing to do if you're struggling… you know to keep consistent it might be strategy... not your mindset. Also like no need for sales pages, email lists, or complicated funnels... So I wanted to get that, you know, straight because simple is amazing... I preach that. So now back to the actual framework. So it consists you know… I would say four steps... So first one is premium identity, premium higher self… because we need to align with our business model… and premium identitiey is how you desire to live your life but also becoming a premium client yourself before you want to attract premium clients… because we are mirrors of our clients and we attract like, you know... like attracts like. So become the best client to your coach, to your mentor, and show up and do the work... ask questions, take the support, and you will get the same in return...

And now more to the strategy... If we desire to sign premium clients we need to start to understand that there's a difference between high-ticket investors and low-ticket buyers... So what we start by is elevating the message that speaks only to premium clients and repels misaligned people away... And also we're looking at the products… we can pick the offer that is providing a high-level solution. And don't let your imposter syndrome creeping here because you can provide high-level solutions. It's just understanding how and why premium clients buy. And then it's to the juiciest part... the affluent content... we are ditching educational and value-based content... And we are embracing authority positioning and activating content that speaks to ready-to-go premium clients. And you're not friend-zoned, you are positioning as an opinionated thought leader, expressing your bold voice, your opinions... what your soul desires to express in this world… so it's creating from the soul, but also knowing the science, the timeless marketing principles... And the last one is qualifying those people… like the screening process… and then the sales call becomes just a vibe check... and with almost no objections… because the content and screening process have done the heavy lifting for you. So sales call is you can lead it from your feminine energy… not being this pushy pushy, you know, handling objections, and you know agressive style marketing... So that's the framework and yeah, let me know what would you know... because I know it's a lot. So...

SAMIA: Yes...

LINDA: So you can tell me which parts would you like to explore more...

SAMIA: Oh, lots of them. Okay. So one of the things that I heard you talk about was… you just made a distinction between education-based marketing and positioning yourself as an authority in the way that you communicate... Can you give me some examples of what the differences… of what an education-based post that you might make for example… what that would look like versus when you're positioning yourself as an authority?

LINDA: That's an excellent question... Yes. So educational content is something that worked but five years ago... so it's in a very typical example it could be… five ways how to attract leads... 123 bam bam bam... And that's boring. It might work for beginners but we are attracting premium clients who are more advanced, more sophisticated. So they will scroll by… what it means authority positioning is that you are standing strong into upto three very bold opinions that matter and you shape their belief system... what they believe... for example, if you look back how I started introducing my framework… I busted some myths. So I'm like, "You don't need to remove your limiting beliefs in order to start making high ticket sales". Because some people might think that they need to work on their mindset first because they have money blocks. And I'm saying, "No, you don't... you just need affluent marketing and to know how to position yourself as an authority". And this is what I just did... I showed my authority because I truly believe in this. Those can be polarizing views… but if you don't want to be polarizing just pick something your strong opinionated at… and that's the key thing... of course we can go deeper into the structure how such content is made… but the key is to find your bold voice... What do you stand for and then show up with certainty and express that unapologetically.

SAMIA: That makes sense to me... I appreciate that… and the distinction that you drew between what will attract someone who is a beginner versus a premium client... So can you tell me more about about the premium client mindset as it were… like what distinguishes the premium client from the beginner or from a not premium client... So, I know you have already mentioned a few characteristics, but if you can give a little more insight on that...

LINDA: Absolutely… So the very first and crucial thing that we need to understand about premium clients is the fact that they might have more money but they don't have enough time… versus low-ticket buyers or beginners... they don't have so many resources to invest but they will have a lot of time. So everything else… most of the aspects how premium clients buy and make a decision will be based on this fact... So for example if you're creating something for premium clients, don't create a lot of videos… again time is essential for them... learn to deliver in your energy… be the biggest asset when you mentor or coach the premium client... If there is some training that is absolutely crucial I have a short training for my one-on-one clients that is based on sales so they can start making sales immediately when they sign up without waiting even for the first call with me... So they're just okay I watch the training which is less than hour-long… super straightforward... okay I'm going all in I'm making more sales... okay so that's the first thing. Second thing, it's a very big what I'm seeing when I'm scrolling my feed... don't speak to the pain points… and this is the premium client's mentality... they are operating from their higher version of themselves… so they will they are operating from their aspirations where they desire to be and they are not necessarily struggling... they want to go higher... they want to reach more goals. They desire to achieve something more… they're not struggling... So when you are telling me you are stuck, you're depressed, you're not making sales... No, I'm fine. Like now you're making me feel so bad about me, I don't want to work with you, if I'm a premium client... you will attract only victim mentality people who will then blame you for not getting results... they will be demanding, they will be on your boxer, you will be dreading even opening the messages… and take the responsibility and shift your marketing because if you've been taught to speak to pain points and problems... it's attracting the wrong type of people. Also, when you… in case you are doing group programs and it's not one-on-one then higher level clients really like to be in a closed circle where they know that it's safe to open up… because their ego is big and they will they will never admit that you know sometimes they are struggling with something or facing challenges… so they need a safe exclusive circle to have this safe space... So create and tell that… that you have a safe space...

SAMIA: Yeah...

LINDA: ..also and another thing the last one, because I know it's a lot... but the last one which also I because people are so discouraged that "Oh my God, I'm not getting engagement, nothing's happening". So that's the thing… premium clients are silent lurkers, they won't engage... so stop creating engaging content and start speaking to premium clients showing your authority… they are not going to comment… they are not going to you know… maybe they will like something, but they will binge watch and then they will be ready and they will be in your dm's...

SAMIA: Ah thank you actually for taking the time to explain more thoroughly the mindset of the premium client… because it definitely makes things more clear for me... and I can see what you're talking about… like for example, I know in my own case… I started happiness coaching training healing work when I was... it was about 10 years ago... And when I first started I had very different messaging than I do now… at that time I was focusing mostly on serving… well the language that I used was… I work with survivors of abuse and other trauma and you know I help them create a thriving life... and what happened was that because of the messaging that I was giving, a lot of the clients that I was getting were in the very early stages of their trauma healing process... and with that, you know, it was that either they were still in crisis or they had only just recently sort of stepped out of that very crisis part of their journey… and so you know the psychology and mentality there is very very different… and or the years as I was growing myself, you know, and I wanted to start to shift my focus to working with people who are at a higher level of the healing process so that we could… because I was like you know what my real gift is that I'm a happiness expert and I want to teach people how to be happy... and so there's a difference between, you know, people who are depressed and you know a typical therapist or a counselor will work with someone who's depressed and get them to the point where they're not depressed anymore... And I was like, "That's not who I want to work with, I want to work with people who are already not depressed and take them to this higher state of being positively happy". And that made me think about the difference that you were talking about between the premium client and the non-premium client where the premium client's not struggling they're doing fine… and they just want to do even better... And so I had to be like okay, well how can I shift my language and my framing in terms of how I think of my tribe… of people... and so now I talk about changemakers... I love working with changemakers and now I attract a very different tribe of people because change makers they already have that vision and commitment to create change in their lives and in the world, and they're working towards that with passion and commitment... And I'm able to just step in and help them take things to the next level... So this is very exciting for me that you understand this distinction and you focus on it and that's awesome...

LINDA: You have actually an excellent example... and I believe we all been there and done this journey... I have also been there, even though I'm a Marketing Expert when I enter the coaching space… it's very different when you do marketing for others and then now you have to do it for yourself... So my essential message was, "I will help you get clients", simple as that... what happened, I've got beginners in a victim mode, I've also promoted very much from pain points... almost none of them got results and I was devastated… but they were in the victim mode and not taking action they spend their energy on whining and moaning how nothing is working and not doing the work... Now I am very clear who I'm working with and what type of people are going to get results with me... So what's happening, people are entering my world and for example my client Dorothy, she started working with me and in less than 30 days she went to $32,000 in immediately... or another client Melissa, she came to me… we revamped her offer that speaks to premium clients and in two weeks... she was at 5k. So journeys are different …but when you are so clear who is going to get the best results with you …because I know if you're starting out you desire to help everyone and serve the world and bless your beautiful heart… but our gifts will work for someone very specifically and we need to find who that person is, what qualities they have, how sophisticated they are... because your result rate matters… and that's when you can charge high ticket. We don't just slap the price on... we need to also stay in integrity and create results.

SAMIA: That's right... that's right… that's such an excellent point because that was another big difference that I saw... It's like if you're… in my case as a Happiness Expert, if I was working with people who are still very much in crisis mode or just coming out of it... a lot of times finances were a huge issue for them, you know… and so they couldn't afford premium services a lot of the times… like I don't want a stereotype by any means because unfortunately, abuse is a kind of trauma that impacts people of every social class, every economic class... but a lot of, certainly the people that I was reaching, because also my... the way that I was reaching my people was that I went to different sexual assault and domestic violence agencies and you know I was working with their people. And it was an amazing strategy for me at that time to tap into… and the reason I had thought of doing that was because I myself received so much help and support at a sexual assault domestic violence agency... and I saw the amazing good work that they were doing and where the gaps were in their services... and I was like, this is where I can step in… and you know so... in some ways it was a really amazing strategy… but in other ways there were serious limitations… and the ability of my clients to pay and how much they could pay was a big one... And so oh my gosh, yeah... it's like you really need to think about what values you have for yourself… as you were saying earlier Linda like one of your top values is freedom... and so you want to do a business and do it in a way that creates more lifestyle freedom for you... But then I loved how you connected that idea to also staying in integrity with the kind of results that you're able to achieve for your clients… because I think that's where a lot of times disconnect happens in the way that I've heard other people talk about the coaches who train on high ticket items... that they're not, they don't pay attention to this integrity piece… and like for people like in my tribe, because we're so heart centered, because we're so soul led, that is so critical...

LINDA: Yes, it is a painful topic because I've been in Luxury Marketing for a while now and what I'm seeing in coaching industry that… people… coaches decided that high ticket is trending and that if they promote that high ticket then they can charge high ticket... without even understanding the psychology how high-level clients buy, you know… and there are so many gaps there that are happening… and staying in integrity is a big big big one for sure...

SAMIA: Yes, indeed... And you know that actually makes me think about another distinction that you drew about mindset... and the need for mindset, because... I mean, I think if you're working with that not affluent client then for sure you need to do a lot of work on mindset and you have to address it because that's just where they are in their journey... is that they're you know in a disempowered state of mind… and so if you're going to be able to help them in any degree... you have to somehow try and pull them to a more empowered state of mind. And that is the toughest part as I very well know… just because you know their own energy is so low, their motivation is oftentimes low and easily shaken... And so it's just a really tough place to work with people… and it just takes a very different skill set to work with someone who is in that mindset...

LINDA: You're absolutely right… and what I want to add here is that... this is where I would say that this is our… as coaches and mentors... it's in our like power to attract people in their empowered state… and when you learn how to put your content out there, focusing on speaking to desires, to their empowered state... you actually can check a disempowered victim mode type of client through your content into stepping into their empowered state and then reach out and choose you as your coach, as your mentor, but already in a different state of mind... And so you won't be needing to shift that inside of the container …because I am a business mentor, I am a marketing expert …of course, I also support my clients on an emotional level, on mindset level, but to some extent… because I'm not a mindset coach and I'm not trained or you know advanced into this because that's not my expertise and I'm not saying that you can come to me… because I just don't know how to handle... It's not that something's wrong with you, it's just it's not my place. So I make sure that I attract people who I know that will thrive with me and that I can really help with them, that I can help them.

SAMIA: Yeah, oh my gosh you are so wise... you're so wise... Because exactly... but this is… oh my gosh, again if I might give an analogy from my field of work... I mean you know… the industry of therapy is so regulated… like in order to call yourself a therapist, a counselor, you have to be licensed, you have to go through years of education… and it's such a regulated industry because you're working with people who are in very vulnerable states when they come to you… and you know they're oftentimes severely depressed... etc, etc... And it just takes a very very particular skill set… but it also takes a lot of time… I mean people are oftentimes in therapy for literally years before they begin to feel beneficial effects... beneficial in terms of feeling really empowered and feeling really like they're in control of their mental/emotional wellness… literally, I mean you know... And so not and just anyone can work with people who are in that state… and that's why the industry is also so regulated… and I think it it's rightly so... and that was another reason why I realized I had to make my shift in terms of the population of people that I work with… because I am not trained and qualified, you know, to work with people who are in such severe depression and so forth... Like, I definitely you know my area of expertise is working like I said with people who are not depressed, who are already at a certain level of wellness, and taking them even higher... So...

LINDA: And mindset is a big thing… you can re-traumatize people without even knowing that's what my clients have told me... and then if even if I look at my you know perspective which is not mindset but it's marketing and business... So many people just learn one tactics that work for them and then they are I'm a business coach, I know marketing... And it's so painful and it really saddens me to watch this because I have the education… I've gone through like a decade of experience working you know under the agencies, with fortune 500 companies you know helping their marketing teams, freelancing... running my own marketing agency… and I can with the confidence say, what I can do and that I'm flexible and I will never teach cookie cutter methods... but then there are coaches that pop up daily saying that they know business, that they know marketing... So of course maybe they kind of traumatize people… but you know how you look at that… because if we invest we expect to get our ROI back...

SAMIA: That's right, that's right, oh my gosh... okay, so we have lots more to talk about with you Linda, and I think we're going to have to bring you back for another episode to continue talking because we are running out of time for today... Do you have any last thing you want to share with our audience for right now...

LINDA: Yes, I could… I was thinking about… because I thought you would ask me this... and I'm so much into my feminine state today and I thought the message I want to say to everyone... is that everything is possible. And if you desire to be in your beautiful home… to wake up in the morning without the alarm, smelling the coffee that your sexy partner is brewing for you… and then your phone pings with the stripe notification that you got a high ticket sale… if you can envision yourself in this scenario... then it's possible for you.

SAMIA: Yes, yes... if you believe it, if you can envision it, it is possible for you... I love that and  I absolutely think that's a wonderful, wonderful place for us to wrap up for today... And to all of you who are listening please make sure you check the show notes... we'll be dropping Linda's links in there so you can connect with her and learn even more... and make sure to catch the next episode where we will also have Linda as our guest and we will keep talking. So until we connect next time I just wish you lots and lots of peace and joy... :)