Marketing, Money & Mindset with Guest Megan Flanagan [125]

Listen to today's episode as I sit down with sales and marketing expert, Megan Flanagan. From being laid off to the turning point that got her off the couch into her successful business she has today.  Whether it's coaching, sales or recession proofing your business, we cover it all in this episode.

Grab Megan's Breakthrough Sales Bundle https://breakthroughsalesbundle.com/

More about Megan: 

Megan Flanagan is the owner of 609 Media, a social media marketing company specializing in authentic organic content strategies and social media services. She helps clients create content that genuinely reflects their brand and meets their audience where they are spending time online.

As an experienced, award-winning social media strategist, Megan's work focuses on increasing customer engagement, brand awareness, and lead generation through organic strategies on social platforms.

Prior to founding 609 Media, Megan spent 11 years at QVC buying products and creating growth strategies for brands at this omnichannel retailer. She has also lived all over the world in London, NYC, Hawaii, and San Francisco, giving her a unique perspective on connecting with diverse people and cultures.

Megan also works at FromWithin Coaching Collaborative as a Marketing & Business Coach for Coaches, a CliftonStrengths Coach, and a Career Communications Coach specializing in LinkedIn.

You can connect with Megan at: 

Email: Megan@609media.com 

Website: www.609media.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan609/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/megan609/

OMNI - Become Known, In Demand, and Confidently Visible
With a visibility strategy that works harder than you do.

OMNI is your group coaching experience where you learn how to create visibility that works harder than you do. A strategic blueprint to become discoverable on the feed, search and AI. https://thevisibleceo.com/omni 

Website: thevisibilityimpactshow.com

Brand: thevisibleceo.com 

Instagram: instagram.com/itscrissyconner 

TikTok: tiktok.com/@crissyconner 

Facebook: facebook.com/crissyconner 

YouTube: youtube.com/@CrissyConner 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/crissyconner 

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

0:00

It's November 2022 is not over yet so ready to move. It doesn't mean we can't take a break. It doesn't mean we can't enjoy our holidays like what all is available are starting, ignite your visibility on Instagram coming up on the 28th of November and that is going to help you streamline your Instagram experience. Understand it fully know what type of content to be putting on there and understand all the ins and outs real stories. He posts all the things so that you can create a raving fan audience there. Make sure you check it out visibility queen.com Welcome back to this episode of the visibility Queen Show. Today I am with one of my most best

friends. She is my 5: 0:42

30am accountability partner every day

at 5: 0:47

30am. You can expect me to be on a zoom with her. So I want to welcome an amazing woman, an amazing coach and amazing social media strategist and amazing sales expert, the one and only Megan Flanagan. No, thank you for having me on at 230 in the afternoon because of 530 I don't think I mean, we know we look good. But at 530. This is not what we look like. This is true, this is true. So tell my audience a little bit about who Meghan Flanagan is. So currently, I have a social media agency, if you will, with very small, personalized team wise, and that has been in business for six years now. We had our sixth anniversary in May so quite proud of that milestone. And three years ago, I also started coaching female entrepreneurs in business sales and mindset. And that came through just an evolution of of kind of starting to coach and mentor people what my strengths were. And as you know, really sales is the leader in those three things that I love to coach female entrepreneurs on. So prior to that I was at QVC for 11 years. And I was a buyer and a planner, and we bought products that sold on TV shopping. And if you don't know QVC last I checked it was a$13 billion company. They have seven or eight PVC is all over the world I only bought for the US. But my last department I was in I was in multiple departments, which served me well. My last department was electronics and tech. So at the tail end of my time at QVC. I got really into the internet and tech and I always knew I was ahead of my friends with technology, like all growing up, I was like the first person to have a CD player in my car and everyone's like, You're crazy. I'm like, No, this is great. I can listen to CDs on my hour drive to school every day. Like it was just, you know, and my Everybody thought I was crazy. So um, but what that did is it started propel me into the social media world. So each thing I did kind of like layer upon layer brick upon brick kind of paved the way for me to be where I am. Real quickly prior to being at QC. I lived and worked all over the world. So after I graduated college, I left my hometown. I went to London and New York, Hawaii, and Northern California, like the San Francisco Bay Area, prior to moving home and then working at QVC. And I think not I think I know why that's important is because I got exposed at a young age to a lot of different cultures, the way countries operate, the way cities operate, the way people operate in different parts of the country, how they communicate with each other, how they don't communicate with each other. And that was like, that was like an amazing kind of tool. Like toolbox together for myself, again, as I launched into social media, start my own company and coach people, because you come with a breadth of knowledge from like I said, so many different cultures. I love that. I love that. And you probably learned so much like living in all those different areas. And they're all good places, by the way. Not bad places, right? Like why did you purposely pick expensive places I'm like, I found that I purposefully I picked places that I was like, Oh, that would be really cool to live with. And oh, by the way, it's like one of the most expensive places in the world. But it also helped me figure things out and problem solved, which is one of my strengths as well. So you know all these things kind of like as you get older, you can start to weave all these threads and kind of see what what you've done with your life and how everything has affected everything else. Absolutely. Absolutely. So you were at QVC? And then what? How did you go from QVC to getting into social media? So I was laid off from my corporate job. And that was, you know, I didn't talk about that for like, a year. That was devastating for me, because my whole identity was wrapped up in my job there. Everybody always wanted to know, What celebrity was coming in the building, what celebrity was I meeting that week? You know, it was everything to me. And so when I first lost my job, it was it was it was devastating. And I remember, I knew I had to do something. And I remember, kind of trying to weave my way around different things, finding out information, what could I do, I knew I didn't want to go back into corporate America. And a time I started following Gary Vaynerchuk. And he put, turn the volume down, if you have kids in the car, he put out a video called make Monday morning, your bitch. And it was like February, something like probably now six or seven years ago. And it literally got me up off the couch. And I was like, What am I doing, like, I wasted like, three weeks of my life. And you know, that's, that's nothing but at the time, it was everything for me. And it really propelled me into action to to figure out what I was going to do. And sidenote, I ended up meeting him telling him that story. And he shouted me out on those podcasts. So it's crazy again, how things all tie together. Yeah, but um, it just really propelled me into get focus, you know, you're smart. I had a coach at the time, who was a friend who has coaching agency, and now I'm a coach and her coaching agency. She coached me through Strength Finders that I had done that gallop Strength Finders two years prior, she made me pull up my strengths again. And she said, reached out to me, like these are your core DNA, you cannot argue with them. Now, what do you want to do? Like, what do you want to do? And I'm like, I want my own business. You know, and then I figured it out from there. And you know, that that's how it transpired. I mean, that was just the beginning of it. But it's been it's been a phenomenal ride. Even with the ups and downs and the losing the clients and the growing and everything. It's just it's been everything I wanted to add more. I love that. And I love you saying that, Tom, that story because for everybody watching and listening, like, I go to Meghan for mindset help. I go to Meghan for money box, but we have to realize that the reason she's good at that is because she's been through the ish, right? You've been through it, you've overcame that. Not to say you're not going to go through anything, and we all do have ups and downs. But it's it's it's refreshing, that not that that sounds I'm not trying to make that sound bad. But it's refreshing that you've been through the issue. I don't think there's anybody who hasn't. And this past weekend, I was talking to some friends and we kind of had this conversation. We're like, you know, everybody's house is the same. The same thing is going on in everybody's house. Some people are just better at not talking about it or talking about it and sharing it. Yeah, I think it's the same for our businesses and nobody, there is not one person out there. Not Russell Brunson, not Gary Vaynerchuk not Tony Robbins. Nobody has it all together. It's just how they're marketing themselves. Thank God. Right? It feels good. It's just like it. How do you manage the ups and downs? It's like, it's like, you know, some one of my goals in the next few years is to go surfing, but it's like surfing, you ride some good waves, you ride some bad waves. Yeah, it's just are you gonna get up and go do it again? That's all it is. Exactly. That's a big fat secret. So from social media, you now you do you support a lot of people with sales and you also support a lot of people with mentoring and coaching. So how did you get from here? I'm doing social media. But now I'm gonna add, you know, other streams of revenue basically. So it started in our mutual coach and mentor Rachel Peterson. I was one of the the people that started in her social media united group. And I was giving a lot of value. I found that everything I had learned from corporate was really applicable to what I was doing and social media and I was sharing. And if people ask the question, I would share it just thinking, Oh, everybody knows this. And what I didn't realize is that a Rachel was watching me and listening and she was like, If she called me and she's like, I would like you to be the coach. And I'm like, Yeah, I'm not a coach. I don't have a certificate. I don't, I don't want to go get it. And she's like, No, you don't understand you have so much knowledge to help others. And that is what really kind of started everything for me is her belief in the, and then her and her husband, Paul's belief in me, and really starting up coaching in SMU and then coaching in the clinic. And having that opportunity and given me the confidence to go out on my own, and then now coaching for another agency as well. So that's all started. And I think it's, and I met you in, in person, we talked on the phone and been on Zoom calls and things like that, but I met you in person on August 2018. We went for a CCl. And I know you've probably heard me say this before, but I'm gonna tell my audience. So one of the things that I'll never forget about Megan is I was on a call with my coach. And she and she was like, What do you guys talk about after we got off the call? And I was like, you know, just like 10k months? And she said, what's so special? About 10k months? Why not? 12k months? Why not? 15k months, not, why not? 20k months, and I will never forget that. And I don't like it's kind of like one of those omens because I never really hit a 10k month, I went straight to 15. Which is so funny. But you coach me in that moment. And I had no idea where it was gonna lead. And but it was so true. It was so good. It was like this, almost like this law of attraction that happened when you said that because literally a year later, that's what happened a year and a month later, I was making 15k months. A lot of that happens. I mean, as you know, every morning, but um, you know, just in general frustration, like, it frustrated me that I didn't have people when I was younger to tell me you can go do this. Like, I always wanted a store at the short like a retail store. I ended up working in retail all over the world. So I kind of scratch that itch. But I always wanted my own business. And I never had people surrounding me telling me to it, like let's figure out how to do it was just not that atmosphere that there are areas in today's world where people are supporting others. And you know, people talk about it. Hey, first of all, what are your real dreams? Yeah, not I just wanted to go to college and get a job and get married and have kids like that. That was the end of the story. Like when I was coming out of college? Yeah. Like you were supposed to get married and have kids and probably would have been frowned upon if I got a job. But, you know, it's been so much brighter to have this all happen later in life for me. And it's, you know, seeing so many other women to having it happen over 40 is just like amazing. So I mean, the wrap that up, it's just like, I want to be there to support the people who don't have people who say, Oh, my God, you can do whatever you want. Right? And it is possible like we you and I see it every day. Right? What is possible that the world doesn't see that's not what they read on the news and on TV. But yeah, we see the things that people are doing every day just frickin blow our minds. Yeah. And you know, the thing is, to some of us may have had that entrepreneurial spirit when we were younger. And I don't know if you want to talk about this or not. But I'll remember this story that you told me about some pants came back and style for you like some pants and you were you learn how to sew them and you took them into a store and made them for the store and sold them. Yeah, but what I'm saying and you can tell that story if you want but like we get we have that spirit, but life kicks us down life says things aren't possible wife says you have to and people says you have to do it this way. You have to do it that way. And so we feel like, there's not all these paths. Right? And I'm so glad that that's not the case. It is the way it is now with my kids. But like when we were younger, it was one way and that was it. Yeah. And you know, good, better and different. It's like, again, I talked to some of my friends all the time about it. We don't realize that our parents generation, like my parents generation, were either raised from parents who were in the depression, or their grandparents who actually probably lived with them. were raised in the depression. So we're breaking so much generational mindset issues coming out of this like this is I think, like people can look around our world and probably just rip it apart and say how bad it is. But this is the greatest time to have a good idea and to want to work for yourself and do things like This is the greatest time right now you've got so much at your fingertips to make things happen. Speaking of that, and this time, I'm depending on when you're listening to this. So Megan taught recession proof your business. In the past week, for the mastermind, we're in together. And she made a list of the businesses that are that typically do well during recession. And I love that entrepreneur was on there. Because it just like, during the pandemic, we learn to pivot we, we figure it out, we do whatever it takes, going back to you creating the pants, you know, like we do, we do, just like you losing your job. We do whatever it takes, if we have that mindset, and we have that motivation, and we have that drive, we will figure it out, just like Gary V's. Monday, podcast or whatever, it was. Great. Yeah, no, it's true. And I think, you know, that's a good thing that you bring up because everybody's concerned, it's all over the news. And I believe, you know, I, when I was coaching them last week, or it was this week, you know, I thought, you know, should I, I really questioned I think I talked to you about it in our early morning call, like, I didn't want to scare people. But I also, I wanted to, I wanted to empower people, right? Like, I wanted to say, hey, here's what's coming in the next six months, look at your business. And if you're just starting out, like ask the right questions to yourself, you know, are you going to make the right hires? Should you buy the software, you really don't need it, like, make sure that your revenue is covering your expenses and a little cushion, starting the emergency fund, like, if you're taking on new clients, and you're a social media manager, perhaps take a look at these businesses that are recession proof. Yeah. And again, nobody, nobody talks about that. No. So you know, and it was that I didn't, you know, you know, it's empowering for people. So it totally is, it totally is. And one of the things I want to talk to you about because it is the most important thing to keep going during a recession is sales. Yes. So you became really passionate about sales, you teach sales, you're a sales expert, you love sales, psychology, tell us a little bit about that journey, and why you're so passionate about it. So one of the funniest things is, up until a few years ago, I hated sales like that is that is the internal dialogue that was in my head is that I am not a slimy salesperson because I couldn't stand salespeople. Now, a little bit of information is that when I was working all over the world, I was a retail store manager. So I had to teach people how to sell. So I working for the gap in the UK. Well, if you have lived in the UK, or if you visited it, you may know the culture where people in shops do not greet you, they do not say hello, they barely look you in the eye that is cultural. So then thrust me into the person that has to train the staff, who by the way, are not from the UK only they're from all over the world because that's like, it's like New York City. It's a melting pot, right? And I have to teach them quote the American way, which is like, Hey, how are you doing? You want fries with that shake kind of thing. And I'm like, this is not gonna fly. So you know, I had many talks with my district manager about like, listen, we got to figure out something because this is not I did it your way. It's not working, we need to find a better way. That's kind of been an underlying theme. But in my mind, I kept telling myself I hated sales. And interesting again, Rachel Peterson asked me to help with selling closing calls for the clinic, which is initially how you and I met our first touch point. And I said to her and her husband, I said, I'm not a salesperson, kind of like I'm not a coach. I'm not a salesperson. I hate sales. And they're like No, no, all you have to do is share your story and your success and I'm like, I thought about it and I thought the reason I love sales as I tell myself I hate sales. The reason I do like if I could say I liked sales was because I was sharing something with someone to help them yeah. So is it a product is it a resource is it a you know, my car that I love? Is there a reason I can share with you why I love it so much. Yeah, because the brand saved my life when I got hit by you know a truck. So it's like there's different things we like to share with people we like know and trust what is near and dear to us. So again, I said yes. And I started closing their calls for social cliques. And I found that I really liked it and it like kind of cracked something open in me that. Okay, I'm good at this, like, Why did I have such bad thoughts? Fast forward, Rachel referred me to one of her friends who's a female entrepreneur six, seven figures, Rachel did a launch for her and blew up her sales calls. So she had to book like, I don't know, 100 to 200 calls in a short window of time. They called me in, I knew this woman, I knew what she stood for. And I'm like, I again, I like know, and trust her, I feel comfortable selling what she's putting out there. Yeah. And very quickly, I had back to back calls, like five days in a row. And I learned very quickly, after the first day, how to really tighten up my process, what ended up coming out of that was my six step framework, which I now teach all the time with how to close discovery calls. And it really, it's a framework, I hate scripts. I think when people have sales scripts, you can tell right away, and to me, that's the most unauthentic thing you can do as a salesperson or a person pitching their services. And I will tell you, especially going into a recession, the way you will stand out as being yourself. Yeah. So I came up with this framework. And it's been I've been teaching people that now for over three years. So that is how I got into that's part of it. Yeah, that's a condensed version. It's so good. You've taught my inner circle, you've taught the clique, you've, you've taught it at Queen con to write and virtual summits we've had so and I think it just gets better, because I know it gets, you know, you do a little tweaking each time, and it just keeps getting better. So yeah, so 2022 version, there's actually yeah, there's a new version coming out, and we're gonna full like, like exploded, like, it's going to be a course there's going to be of course, that's available for everybody, and then a more in depth with what you talked about, like the psychology behind it, because I've totally, in the past two years really geeked out on the psychology of selling and buying. And one thing that's crazy is people can use it to be unethical, but kind of like when I'm teaching a framework. I teach like tips and tricks. And I say, you know, I'm teaching this because you're an ethical marketer, and I expect you to be ethical with these tools you're learning. So that's all I can hope for is when you teach people how to sell better. They have the best intentions. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what is your what would you say is your so I want to ask you two questions. What is your best tip for a brand new entrepreneur? That might be listening to this podcast? Brand new entrepreneur, my best tip you're gonna laugh when I say it. Get visible. Oh, yes, thank you. I'm not saying it. I mean, I'm saying hey, you know, say that didn't take them. But it is true in this right now. If you're not comfortable, and you're a brand new entrepreneur, you've got to get this mold to break through the noise. I came with a quote like Rolodex of 25 to 30 years of working, which is why I it's not as front front of mine were top of mine to get visible. Although I know in my small circles, I'm very visible. Yeah. I love that perfect answer. Making my day. My love language. Okay, no. So, yeah, so my next question is, what is your best sales tip for any business owner connection. It's not you, when you sell to somebody, you are providing a service and you're helping them and they are getting something from you, you're giving something to them. And when you connect with another human being, like you make that connection that I teach them from a framework to like, you can connect for a minute in time or your whole lifetime. And if you forward facing are all about connection, you cannot lose. And people will always come back to you because they trust you. And that has been my experience for over 50 years. So yes, that's a no no, that's so good. That's so good. Okay, so for my audience, you have a freebie that you are going to share with them and we're going to put the link in There's shownotes, do you want to tell us a little bit about that? It is my breakthrough sales bundle. So this does include the six step framework for closing discovery calls, includes a little like I would call Cliff Notes or cheat sheets on Dr. Steele Dinis influence book, that is a great resource to read about influence, persuasion, just kind of the psychology of selling, and if you are any kind of entrepreneur, you're at some point in time gonna have to sell your services. And then the third piece is it's, I believe, 50 questions to ask to, to formulate your ideal client avatar, because you can't speak to somebody, if you don't know who they are. And you, you might come out a new entrepreneur might be like, well, I want to sell to everybody. It does not work that way. You you pick, pick your one person, give him or her a name, and talk to them. And you're the speed to revenue will come that much quicker. I love that. So good. So good. So make sure you check out that link. And then where can my audience connect with you on social media if they want to connect with you? I am at six. So media 609 media.com. Most of my handles are Megan 609. And then I also have a Facebook page called mindset and momentum. And that is for female female coaching. So we'll drop the link to that to any last words that you want to leave my audience before we go. No, I just think that I would say what I said on Monday to our group, look at take a look at your businesses. Make sure they you're looking at them with a new lens in the next six months recession proof. Make sure you know how to sell and connect with people because that is going to keep you in business for years to come. So I love that. So so good. Thank you so much, Megan. I'm just gonna say this and put this out there. This will not be Megan's last visit to the visibility Queen show we will have her on again. So make sure you connect with her. Ask any questions or if you want her to come back and speak on something more in depth. Let us know too. And we'll make sure to have her back soon. Thank you, Megan, I appreciate you. Thank you so much for having me. I hope you enjoyed this episode, feel free to share it on your favorite platform and tag me I love re sharing these and giving you a shout out as well. My goal is to always support you and help you see a transformation. Not only your business, but in your life. We will never outgrow our business. Remember that so we get to work on ourselves and see that transformation come through on both personal and business side. I would love to work with you and 2023 I have loads of opportunities that will fit the pricing and the budget that you have. Let's chat. I'm truly interested in creating an unforgettable experience for you to grow, transform and see how big your business can grow in 2023