Interview with the launch coach, Dave Navarro

26 Aug

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Batman- oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to tell you that.  What I can tell you is that I am a "launch coach" - I'm not even sure that's a real term yet - but what I do is help business owners and bloggers get their audiences excited about buying from them.  I have helped organize launches for a few well-known marketers on the internet and a few people nobody else has heard of - but basically I get more people to buy the stuff you're selling.

Why do you think people should get to know you?

So I can learn from them. :-)   Seriously - we all have things we can teach each other, these little "a-ha" moments that are obvious to the other person but we don't see it in our own lives because we're mixed in with all our stuff.  I love how other people help me have "a-ha" moments that I've missed, and I like giving those moments to other people.

One of the things I enjoy about getting to know people is the consulting aspect.  I can usually sit down with someone for 20, 30 minutes and show them how to add thousands of dollars a month to what they're bringing in.  I really love that.

Who do you think are the bloggers to watch?

The people who do the legwork - because those are the people who are rising and aren't "A-listers" yet.  It's easy to get caught up in hero worship and wanting to be like the big dogs, but in all honesty it's the people who are hustling right now who are the ones to watch.

Personally, I think people should be watching you, Jade.  Your "25 lessons I leaned from ..." series was freaking brilliant, and I'm kind of jealous I didn't think of it first.  Doing something like that takes a lot of effort, but it gets you noticed by the people you're writing about.  It's doing the homework before you network with people and it's genius.

The bloggers to watch are the ones who aren't worried about "getting it right" and just get it out there.  You can always refine later.  Hell, I started TheLaunchCoach.com with a generic Cutline blog theme, and I landed over $10,000 in clients using it.  Action is everything, and you need to connect with the people who are taking it.

Becoming a launch coach was an accident. Are yo glad it happened?

Hell, yes.  It's a classic case of finally finding the right fit.  I'm a problem solver - that's why I started out doing personal coaching, the whole Tony Robbins thing.  I learned marketing to sell my coaching services.  But coaching takes a long time to do to see fruit.
With launch coaching, I can consult with someone and in half an hour take their business to the next level.  I love being able to get results fast, and it's a lot easier with launch consulting.

Do you have any plans to expand your personal development business?

Yes and no - I'm not so much interested in creating any more personal development products, because I have 3 kids and there's only so much time in the day, so I want to focus my time on what makes me money fastest so I have more time for them.  But at the same time I have a lot of good stuff to share, so I'm doing free stuff on the RockYourDay blog.

I recently took a $197 coaching program I had and started releasing it in blog format, a post a week, for free. I've seen a huge traffic and list growth spike and I'm excited about where that might take me down the road.  But it's not where I'm trying to make money, not now.

Who do you think the ideal client is to hire you for a launch?

Honestly, someone who already has a large following that likes them, and who could probably do an ok launch all on their own if they wanted to.  What I excel in is coming and refining the process, setting up timelines and plans so that something makes 5 of 10 times the money someone could make on their own.

Plus, to be perfectly frank, people who are already successful work harder - I don't have the handholding or the drama I might have with someone who is struggling ... I just lay out the plan and they run with it.  So clients making say, six figures on their own, that's an ideal client.

You have released awesome products this year. Do you have any other awesome releases planned?

I'm in the midst of a beta launch of a list-building program called More Buyers Every Month - a departure from all the "instant riches" tripe that you see all over the web.  I'm basically teaching people how to start where they are and build month after month.  I'm using the Teaching Sells model, where I sold the workshop before I made it and I'm delivering it after the fact.

This will likely take all my energy for the rest of the year - I pre-launched it to my private list in September, and you can't actually buy it now, I just have a waiting list - but towards the end of the year I'll probably be doing the full affiliate launch.

You said recently that releasing a product gives you credibility. Why?

For a few reasons - first, because few other people actually do it.  It's scary.  Second, because it establishes authority - if you have created a product, then it stands to reason that you know your stuff (though obviously that's not always true).  But mainly, in my opinion, it shows people proof that you get paid to do this stuff.  And if people publicly pay you to do something, that's automatic credibility right there.

Darren Rowse recommended that bloggers build a network before they need it. Do you agree, and what are your tips on building a network?

Build your network immediately.  I could say a lot on this, but I already did, so I'm going to redirect you to an blog series I have called Networking 101

Do you recommend any specific products to first time product creators?

Oh, I'm gonna say How to Launch the **** Out of Your Ebook, because I have to. :-)   Seriously, though, I wrote it for first time product creators because so much stuff out there is just get rich quick garbage.  I tried to make this guide as step-by-step as I could, and several rising bloggers have used it to launch their first products.  I think last time I checked Jonathan Mead from Illuminatedmind.net was making $1,400 a month from what he learned from my ebook, so I can vouch for the content. :-)

Have you, or any of your clients, had doubts before releasing your first product? How did you overcome them?

Everone has doubts, everyone.  What you do when you doubt is reflect back on all the crap out there that gets put on the bestseller list.  Surely your stuff is better than that. :-)
Your first product is not you. It will not be perfect, it will be whatever it is you can muster up the first time.  You have to just get it out there now and refine it later.

You said in your ebook that you should find the people that influence the influencers. Has this worked for you?

Yes.  Look for people who are taking action to get noticed by the A-Listers, and help them any way you can.  As they rise, they will remember you.  It's what got me regular paid writing positions at FreelanceFolder and FreelanceSwitch - the two biggest freelancing blogs out there - and it's what got me posting on Copyblogger as well.
People who have blogs with 500-1000 subscribers, they will be influencing the influencers before long, because as the big players get bigger, they need trusted, known quantities to delegate their business to.  You want to be tight with them.

Do you ever get surprised at how effective something is during a launch?

Absolutely - every audience I've launched for is different, so it goes both ways - some things I think should pop fall flat, and then other things take off like wildfire.  It's always a learning experience.

How important is the advance discount list?

Nothing's more important. :-)   Hell, as soon as I came up with the idea to do it, I registered AdvanceDiscountList.com (, if that tells you anything. Not that I invented the Advance List concept, but I can tell you I saw a lot of people copy it after my December pre-launch.
Having a smaller list of people who really want to buy from you is the strongest tool in your marketing toolbox.

In Upsell 101, you said that limited copies of a product is bull because its just a pdf. Do you have any tips on creating scarcity?

Price and time are a winning combination, and that's what I do with my Advance List.  Half price, 5 days only ... there's no skeezy stuff to that, it's just rewarding the people who act fast.

Another thing is simply creating fast action bonuses for the first 100, 250 people, whatever.  No false scarcity there.

How much importance do you place in twitter during a product launch?

I had my first "thousand dollar day" because of Twitter (), promoting Naomi Dunford's Online Business School.  It was a huge thing for me, I'd never had an affiliate promotion work out like that before.

Twitter is definitely very useful and you should make sure to be cultivating your audience so that you're recognized there.

If you want further information, I provide consult quality responses in the comments. However if you want the kick arse information that I don’t provide elsewhere, look at these:

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