They Ask, You Answer
Written by Marcus Sheridan • Reviewed by Laura Meyer
June 17, 2022
Marcus Sheridan was a business owner with one goal: to save the company from going under. He became an author, speaker, and marketing and recruiting expert along the way. Learn the story behind his bestselling book They Ask, You Answer. Plus, discover how you can use these principles to grow your business.
A business owner’s struggle
Marcus Sheridan’s swimming pool company was doing well until the stock market crashed in 2008. Within 48 hours, he lost $250,000 of business. By January, the company was almost bankrupt. Marcus found himself in the same situation as many business owners at the time. He was going to lose his home unless he could find a way to save the company.
Turning the business around
Marcus started studying digital marketing and his own behavior. He noticed that he acted differently as a customer after the 2008 crash—and so did many other people. They had a lot more questions, and they wanted answers before they made a buying decision. Then it hit him, If I obsess over my customers’ questions, worries, and fears, it might save my business.
He told his team they would become the world’s best teachers about fiberglass swimming pools. He wrote down hundreds of questions customers had asked him. And in the next few years, he and his team answered every one of them on the company website.
The business started getting more web traffic than any other swimming pool company in the world. It became the largest fiberglass pool builder in the U.S. Then it became a franchise. Now, River Pools and Spas manufactures swimming pools, too.
Becoming an expert
Marcus wrote about his story, and companies from other industries started asking him to share what he’d done. They wanted to learn how to do the same thing.
Suddenly, Marcus had a marketing agency and a new job as a world-renowned public speaker. He wrote his bestselling book They Ask, You Answer to teach other businesses how to use the power of marketing and recruiting.
Growing your business
You may not want to be a speaker like Marcus, but you can grow your business using the same principles as he did. You can learn to think like a buyer or a recruit. You can obsess over their questions and overcome the obstacles your business faces. And you can even have a little fun with the They Ask, You Answer concept.
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