Hesitant to Start They Ask, You Answer Mastery? Here’s When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Wait

We know that They Ask, You Answer Mastery is a big commitment — and we know that it’s a leap of faith.

We’re going to ask you to reimagine the way you market your business. We’re going to ask you to hire and train an internal team. And we’re going to ask you to adopt new software platforms to measure the effectiveness of it all.

And on top of that, we’ve openly told you that the timeline for seeing results can vary widely based on your unique circumstances. 

But despite all that uncertainty, you’re still here.

You’re here because something really resonated with you. It could have been hearing Marcus Sheridan speak about They Ask, You Answer. Or it could have been case studies or content or videos we’ve shared. 

Or maybe it was something else. 

For years, you’ve had a feeling that you’ve been wasting your marketing budget. Maybe an agency overpromised and underdelivered. Or maybe a PPC program kept bringing in fewer and fewer leads. You’ve thought to yourself, Marketing shouldn’t be this hard.

They Ask, You Answer offers a framework to help you simplify sales and marketing and build trust with your buyers.

And here you are, ready to take that first step. Ready to take that leap of faith.

And then...hesitation.

It’s only natural. You want to know that this is right — that the step you’re about to take is the best choice for you and for your business. 

Will Schultz is a coach at IMPACT. He leads companies like yours through their 12-24-month Mastery journey. 

To Will, the hesitation makes sense, but so does the way to move past it. If They Ask, You Answer really resonated with you, he says, then Mastery is the path forward.

The more time you spend debating taking the first step is more time that delays you from getting started and seeing results. 

You can watch Will respond to this topic in our 13-minute interview, or keep reading.

So, how do you know if your objections are legitimate or if they are just the equivalent of cold feet? Will breaks down the common things he hears from companies, and what they all mean. 

Reasons to pump the brakes:

At IMPACT, we never want to pressure you to make a decision that’s not a sound one. We’ve seen our Mastery coaching and training program transform businesses in ways they never thought possible. But change is not always easy, and we want clients who are poised and ready for that change.

If you’ve got legitimate objections that might hinder your progress, you could be right to hesitate.

Financial concerns

Our programs start at $8,500 per month. On top of that will be the cost of bringing on several new teammates — as well as software expenses. Many businesses are significantly able to offset these costs by cutting back their marketing spend elsewhere, but this still represents a sizable investment on your part.

If your company is not in a place to do so comfortably, you should not start Mastery until you are. 

Furthermore, if you’re in need of immediate ROI, you should know upfront that inbound marketing can take time to deliver robust traffic and lead growth. Sure, your sales team can immediately start using content to close deals, but the other metrics may take longer. 

The Mastery program represents a long-term investment in your company and your talent. Some of the biggest benefits are down the road.

A lack of team alignment

This one’s a killer — and it’s best if you know about it beforehand. It goes like this: A CMO or other marketing leader hears Marcus speak or reads They Ask, You Answer and is blown away. They’re sure that this is the way forward for their business. They want to start working with IMPACT as soon as possible.

The problem? No one else at their company has even heard about this. Sales is not on board, leadership is skeptical.

Before you start working with IMPACT, you need some level of team alignment. Exactly what that looks like depends on your business. Sometimes it’s as simple as sharing a video keynote from Marcus, asking your VP of sales to take a two-hour course in IMPACT+, or having your leadership team read the book themselves. 

Trust me, you’ll be able to move forward much more quickly if you take these steps first.

Obstacles that can be overcome: 

But other objections will not actually impede your progress. These represent important questions to ask, but not significant roadblocks that need to delay you from getting started.

"We don’t have the right people hired"

Although this seems logical, it’s actually the wrong way of thinking about the IMPACT coaching and training program. We will help you hire anyone you need to hire, so you shouldn’t feel the need to staff up before you get started. In many ways, it’s better if you don’t.

Says Will: “A best-case scenario of IMPACT working with an organization is having this blank canvas where everyone [on the marketing team] can be introduced to They Ask, You Answer at the same time.”

"We just want to wait until next quarter"

When you first learned of They Ask, You Answer, one of two things happened: You either thought, Nah, not for me or you thought Where has this been all my life!? 

If you’re in the second camp, Mastery is tailor-made to help you see the same success Marcus talks about in his book. We’ve helped hundreds of companies in the past, and you could be next.

Waiting to get started just means you’re delaying your results.

"We want to try to do They Ask, You Answer on our own first"

This makes sense. After all, Marcus did it all on his own for River Pools. We’re all for entrepreneurs getting started with They Ask, You Answer on their own, but there are two caveats: First off, you will naturally learn lessons the hard way and your results will be stymied accordingly. 

Second, you run the risk of making your team jaded to the whole philosophy. If you get started and get stuck — you might struggle with content strategy, HubSpot mastery, or assignment selling — your coworkers might be resistant when you try it again in six months with IMPACT’s help. 

In their mind, you already tried that They Ask, You Answer thing and it didn’t work.

All great journeys start with one step

Any big undertaking can feel intimidating. That first step is a big one, for it starts you down a new path that will lead to a revolutionary journey.

Mastery is an investment in your future. 

As with any investment, the sooner you start, the better.

If you’re worried about buy-in from sales and leadership — or you’re not financially comfortable, it probably makes sense to hold off. But in most cases, you already know this is the best path forward. It’s time to take your first step.