In my series on people who are making a difference, I interview Susan Fox, an award-winning neuro-marketer, market research trainer and copywriter. I hope you enjoy Susan’s insights on how she applies her experience being a professional hypnotist to marketing strategies essential to business today. Spoiler alert: My favorite story Susan shares is putting an audience to sleep!
Thank you so much for your time! I know you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what early experiences brought you to your specific career path?
Growing up in 1950’s Arizona, when people still referred to Phoenix as a “town”, my dad strongly modeled an attitude of service. Outside of attending school or scouting activities, as a teenager, I worked with Dad in his electrical supply warehouse filling orders for contractors. The service attitude inspired me to complete the entire Girl Scout program, even through college. As an adult, providing B2B business support services now feels natural.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you in your career or education?
Though I am now a lead generation coach, marketing trainer and copywriter, before this career I worked as a professional hypnotist. Having overcome my own public speaking insecurities using hypnosis, I wanted to help others do the same. Soon I regularly taught clients how to confidently relax and speak comfortably before any size audience.
My career progressed. I started studying neuroscience language patterns for clear communication. Studying and applying neuroscientific principles to my client’s desires for clear, confident communicating opened new opportunities. I soon started working with my first stress relief coma recovery client.
With this first coma client, massive brain damage prevented my eight-year-old male client from being able to communicate his needs. After assessing the situation, I wrote (Jonathan) his first hypnotic script. I recorded it. We set up equipment for him to continuously hear it out loud. Within 48 hours of hearing the hypnotic suggestions, he started communicating with those around him. Hands down, working with those in coma and stroke recovery still interests and intrigues me. I love understanding how the brain functions.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting out on your career? What lesson did you learn from that?
Millions deny themselves of sound sleep due to snoring. I created a self-hypnosis snoring relief program for the person hearing the snorer. Publicly presenting my simple technique at a hypnotherapy conference one time, about 10% of the audience started snoring. I began to laugh then stifled myself as I continued presenting. From that experience I learned to be creative and ready for anything an audience may do.
What are some of the most interesting and exciting community projects you are working on now?
Public speakers, authors and small business entrepreneurs want new customers or to get before audiences. Many people need help promoting themselves. That’s what I do now. For years I spoke on the public speaking circuit. I know the tips, strategies and methods to get connected with the right people. So, public speakers find me and we create a marketing strategy that works. Using my own system, I show my coaching students how to connect with their target audience from the prospect’s viewpoint. Most people don’t know how to do this, but my students do. No more guessing how to connect. You save yourself tons of marketing budget dollars, time and frustration using viewpoint marketing strategies actually based in neuromarketing/neuroscience.
What are 5 things you would tell your younger self?
- Relax
- Don’t take yourself so seriously all the time
- Remember to take time to laugh everyday
- Do something that regularly gets you out of your comfort zone
- Sing more (even if you are tone deaf!)
You are a successful person. Can you share some tips on how young people today can get ahead?
- Do market research in your marketing efforts FIRST to unearth what your target audience REALLY wants. Then, give it to them in the WAY they can interpret it from their viewpoint. (My early marketing campaigns fell flat because I didn’t know how to do neuroscientific viewpoint marketing. I hadn’t invented it yet, LOL! After developing and applying my systematic neuromarketing approach to attract customers and get in front of audiences and people wanting to read my books, my business life dramatically changed as did my client’s lives!)
- Create and follow a measurable, systematic marketing approach to reaching your customers. (I thought going to networking groups and getting every business card I could get gave me a qualified leads list. It didn’t. I wound up spending a lot of time hoping for business instead of following a proven successful marketing model.)
- Create a SIMPLE system that makes sense to you (I used to spend a lot of time writing and publishing social media posts on various platforms. I got interest but no sales conversions. A tip to really connect? Make relevant comments and ask to connect with post-makers on such places as Alignable. I’ve done lots of virtual networking and done business with many wonderful people.)
They say the new influencer is a #Givefluencer — how are you paying it forward with others in your life?
I freely answer lots of marketing questions writers, public speakers, life coaches, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs ask online in various social networking groups. We are here to help each other succeed in business. That means giving more than you sell. I also offer a FREE website content review. In that review I almost instantly show website owners how to improve their website traffic attraction factor.
Is there a particular book that you read, or podcast you listened to that really helped you in your career? Can you explain?
The Creative Brain (Ned Herrmann) set me on my research path of using neuroscience for clear communication. Understanding what Ned calls Brain Dominant Preference provides a predictable, reliable, measurable way to clearly communicate. Clear communication is key for developing meaningful, lasting business relationships!
Because of the role you play in the community, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire “good news” what would be your headline and 3 talking points?
Never Abandon Living Your Dream would be the headline. YOU are an expert at being victorious over a challenge from which others still seek freedom. Empowerment methods you use today can be priceless keys providing forward movement for your market. Generously share your unique viewpoints of overcoming that adversity. Inspire others to know how they can be there for themselves by developing and using their own inner strengths.
How can people connect with you?
People can contact me by email at [email protected], by calling and leaving a message 24/7 in the US or Canada at (740) 531-0400. They can visit my website at https://www.yoursecretwishes.com.