We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brenna McGowan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brenna , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Well, first, I’m Gen X — work ethic was engrained in us from the beginning! Joking aside, my strong work ethic came from watching my parents. My father was a traveling salesman who worked his tail off to provide for our family. With no degree, he went from delivering beer in Newark, New Jersey to eventually becoming the National Sales Manager for Panasonic. He always taught us to be honest, work hard, and do what you say. My dad traveled a lot for work, and my mother stayed at home and took care of us. She worked tirelessly to make sure we were taken care of, and had to do the work of both parents sometimes. I’m very blessed to have such great examples in my life with such hard-working parents.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a launch strategist and copywriter.
What I think is special about what I do is I show people how to use a mix of content, story, and strategy to sell their offers during what I call a “pre-launch” period. This is special because in the online industry businesses are reliant a lot of times on stressful launches that burn them out. Instead, I show businesses how to use the time period before they launch to create anticipation, build buzz, pre-sell, and increase revenue…. without the typical stress and pressure of traditional launch periods. The other cool part about marketing and selling like this is that clients and customers respond more positively to the sales experience.
I show businesses how to do this inside the Pre-Launch Plan Program, which I currently run twice a year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The 3 qualities that have been most impactful in my journey have been:
1. Networking and treating people with understanding, respect and kindness
2. Learning how to write copy, both for engagement (content) and sales (conversion)
3. Looking for areas where I need to improve the way I think about things (aka mindset)
For people who are early in their journey, I recommend reading books! I know, it seems obvious, but we forget how much information is available to us. Books that have made a big impact on my journey are How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Breakthrough Copywriting by David Garfinkel, The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy, How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards, and 10x is Easier that 2X by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The book that’s played the most important role in my life is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Business starts and ends with people — yet communication and inter-personal skills can feel like the hardest things to navigate sometimes. I re-read this book often, and it never ceases to amaze me how applicable the book is, even decades later. Simple things like remembering to say someone’s name or let someone else do the talking in a conversation can make such a huge impact in not just our businesses, but our lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brennamcgowan.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brennamcgowanco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/behindthelaunchwithbrennamcgowan
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennamcgowan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUq9Rmu13NHDeBWCDhOAqw
- Other: https://brennamcgowan.co/ppp/
