The Business of Authority

If you don't give yourself a break, who will? Talking Points Setting boundaries Examples of small, medium, and large breaks Identifying your "anchor habits/tasks" Reusing content to give yourself a break How our phones make taking a break difficult Quotable Quotes “I’m not a big fan of vacations.”—JS “We need a break from sitting on our butts using our brains.”—RM “Boredom is basically gone.”—JS “Both the mind and the body need breaks.”—RM “I’m not anti technology. I’m pro breaks.”—RM “It’s about exercising a different mental muscle, or emotional muscle, or muscle muscle.”—JS “If you don’t know what to do to recharge your batteries, experiment.”—RM “You have to give yourself breaks, because nobody is going to do it for you.”—RM “If you don’t do it, who’s going to?”—RM Related Links Three Month Vacation by Sean D’Souza Anchor Tasks by James Clear Inbox Pause Sanebox Why You Need A Content Inventory Ready Player One Why You Should Take A Social Media Sabbatical by Paul Jarvis LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

There's probably a difference between what YOU think you do and what YOUR CLIENTS think you do. Talking Points How to find meaningful metrics Why your craft doesn't matter as much as you think Quotable Quotes “Are you taking your clients on the scenic route to nowhere?”—JS “Measure what your client values.”—RM “How can you hit a home run if you don’t know where the wall is?”—JS “There’s always something to measure. Otherwise, your clients wouldn’t know anything was wrong.”—JS “If you don’t think you can have a positive impact, you shouldn’t be proposing.”—RM “Consultants push back. Freelancers don’t.”—JS “Billing by the hour sets the expectation that you’re interchangeable.”—JS Related Links Jonathan’s Daily List LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Talking Points You might have a positioning problem if ...your clients can't tell the difference between you and everybody else ...you're not getting any word of mouth ...you can't explain what you do in five words or less ...you're not leading how your target audience sees you ...you don't know who your target audience is ...you don't know--or you don't talk about--how you transform your clients Quotable Quotes "You want to give your clients the tools to spread the word about you" -JS "What is the change--the transformation--you create for your people? That's where you want to focus." -JS "The HOW we get clients "there" is less important than that we're focused on the same outcome." -RM "Positioning is an organized effort to differentiate yourself or your firm to influence how your target audience perceives you." -RM "A strategy is a litmus test for deciding what not to do. What's a good opportunity and a bad opportunity?" -JS "If you're in the authority business, the single most important thing you'll do is position yourself or your firm." -RM Related Links Do You Have A Positioning Problem? LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

How and why to use stories with prospective clients. Talking Points How to remember your war stories The value of sharing stories in the sales process Where to look for story triggers How to use your values to test your stories Credentials vs stories How to prepare stories for client meetings Why you shouldn't memorize your stories (and when you should) ##Quotables: -“If someone wanted an arrogant cowboy, that would be the perfect story to tell.”—RM -“It’s going to push away people who would create a disastrous project anyway.”—JS -“Really good stories are sticky.”—JS -“Lists of credentials can help narrow the field. Your story takes you to the next level.”—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

A strategy for getting paid well even if your audience has small pockets. Talking Points The power of starting with the problem Big pockets vs small pockets Examples of paid marketing opportunities What to do before you have an audience How to craft a great pitch How to create interest in a cold email What to do on a pitch call Quotable Quotes “To increase the monetary value of your speaking gigs, have product available.”—JS -“It may look really simple—an e-book or a guide—but how that gets marketed, whose hands it goes into, how your name is used, matters. They’re all part of your brand.”—RM -“Ask yourself: how does this opportunity align with my message? How does it work for my people?”—RM -“If you get people to sell out, you’re in trouble”—JS -“Answer the question: what do you write about that serves their audience’s needs?”—RM -“You’ve got to do your homework or you’re a spammer. And people smell spammers a mile away” —JS -“If it makes you feel gross, you’re doing it wrong”—RM Related Links The TBOA Jill Konrath episode The Secret of Selling Anything The show Jonathan hosted for Intel LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

How to give away expertise for free and make good money doing it Talking Points Selling more in less time without pushing How having a mission can help you strategically The roles that writing a book can play in a business How to give away expertise for free and make good money The importance of a good mailing list One way to constantly be in creation mode Quotable Quotes "I didn't sit down one day and decide I wanted to be well-known."—JK "How can I help these people and not go broke?"—JK "People in the consulting business fundamentally think about sales in the wrong way."—JK "Sales is a skill. If you don't learn it, you can't create a sustainable career."—JK "Sales is not pushy. It's consultative."—JK "Your clients don't want what you have to offer. They want outcomes."—JK "I'm well aware that my books are the lifeblood of my business, but that's not why I write them."—JK "About 15 years ago, I asked myself 'How can I give my expertise away for free and make good money doing it?'"—JK "I have passed up a significant number of revenue generating opportunities."—JK "It's all about creating a conversation with someone you want to reach."—JK Guest Bio After an award-winning sales career in the technology and services sector, Jill is now an internationally recognized speaker and sales strategist. She’s a bestselling author of four books—Selling to Big Companies, SNAP Selling, Agile Selling, and More Sales Less Time. Recently, LinkedIn named Jill as their #1 Business-to-Business Sales Expert citing her 1/3 million followers. Salesforce selected her as one of Top 7 Sales Influencers of the 21st century. Plus, she’s featured in the just-released “Story of Sales” documentary. As a consultant, Jill has worked with companies like IBM, GE, and Staples as well as many mid-market firms. Her expertise has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Inc, Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, ABC and Fox News. To sum up her career, Jill is constantly searching for fresh strategies to enable sales success n an ever-changing business environment. Related Links Jill's Website Jill's LinkedIn Selling to Big Companies Transcript Jonathan S: 00:00 Hello, and welcome to the Business of Authority. I'm Jonathan Stark. Rochelle M: 00:04 And I'm Rochelle Moulton. Jonathan S: 00:05 Today, we're joined by Jill Konrath. After an award-winning sales career in the technology and services sector, Jill is now an internationally-recognized speaker and sales strategist. She's the best-selling author of four business books, most recently More Sales, Less Time. LinkedIn has named her their number one B2B expert, and Salesforce selected her as one of the top seven sales influencers of the 21st century. As a consultant, Jill's worked with companies like IBM, GE, and Staples, as well as many mid-market firms. Her expertise has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Inc, Entrepreneur. The list goes on. We're super happy to have Jill with us today. Jill, welcome to the show. Jill K: 00:46 Hey, thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here. Rochelle M: 00:49 Jill, I just have to comment on your big idea on your website, which kind of sums up everything Jonathan just said about you. Sales Accelerated. Yeah! Love it! Jill K: 01:00 I do, too. In the niche that I'm in, it's about how do we make more sales and do it in less time. How can we make it faster? To me, it's not just faster, it's really about how do we have a better conversation that's more focused on the customer. That's what makes it faster, not just push. Rochelle M: 01:21 Love it! Before we get into all this, maybe for some of the members of our audience who might be experiencing you for the first time, will you tell us a little bit more about who you are, how you work, what you do? Jill K: 01:35 Who I am. I am a sales consultant. I have been in the sales field pretty much my entire career. I never wanted to be in sales. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but they told me when I brought my business plan into SCORE, Service Corps of Retired Executives, that it was a really good idea, and then they said, "How are you going to sell this?" I looked at them. I thought, "I thought you said it was a good idea." They said, "It is, Jill, but somebody has to sell it," so I said, "All right. I'll go into sales for one year. I'll learn everything there is to know and then I will get out of it." Anyway, I never left. Jill K: 02:14 I found it to be fascinating and totally different than I thought it was. I assumed most salespeople were slimy, manipulative con artists like you see on TV or the movies. I found out that, in the business-to-business field, salespeople are intelligent, creative, concerned about their customers, focused on their customers, trying to help them make good business decisions that enhance the quality of their work, a

You’ve probably got at least a half-dozen bios (or maybe wish that’s ALL you had): your website ABOUT page, article bios/bylines, industry association profiles, speaking bio, media bio, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, even your email signature… What constitutes a truly kick-ass bio? How far should you go in adding personality and sizzle to yours? And the big question: first person or third? This week we dig down into what makes your bio(s) compelling and irresistible to the right audience. Talking Points What types of bios do I need? How personal should my bio be? What is the difference between a press page and an about page? Should my bio be written in the first person or third? What should my social media bios include? How can I experiment with different versions of my bio? Links Your Bio Needs A Makeover If... When Your Bio Needs A Makeover Quotable Quotes "Write your bio like you talk.” JS "When you talk in the first person, you have to own every single thing you say."—RM "First person is not only good because it helps you relate to people more quickly, but it also forces you to be authentic."—RM "You can’t beat on your chest saying how wonderful you are, you have to lead them to it with breadcrumbs."—RM "You can experiment with email signatures easily—you can change it depending on who you’re sending it to and no one else can really see it."—JS "Another great place to experiment is an in-person networking event where you can just tweak the language to see what clicks with people."—JS "Your bio is the connective tissue to your audience.” RM "Getting your headline really punchy is worth putting some effort into.” JS LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

What does it take to become a true thought leader? On this week's episode, we separate building thought leadership from building authority and show you how to decide if becoming a thought leader is the right direction for you. LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

What's your vision for your business? Talking Points What's the point of having a vision for your business? What's the difference between vision and mission or purpose or big idea? What skills do you need to be developing (or discarding)? How do financial goals fit into your vision? How far out should you think with your business vision? What about me-focused vs you-focused vision statements? How do values play into your vision? Quotable Quotes "If you want to make forward progress, you need to know which way forward is."—JS "A vision isn't something you change like your socks."—RM "Get clear on the big picture first, and then you can tinker with tactics for the rest of your life."—RM "Decide where to point the car before you mash on the gas."—JS "Tactics are attractive because they represent a small commitment. Strategy is a big commitment and therefore it feels scary."—RM "There is a 'unified theory of you' in there somewhere."—JS LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Are you being a perfectionist... or just procrastinating? Talking Points How do you know when something is done? Are you being a perfectionist or just procrastinating? What things bring out the perfectionist in you? Quotable Quotes "If you want things to get better, you have to change something."—JS "People aren't really looking at your website that much."—RM "Your current clients don't go to your website."—JS "Social media has made things both better and worse for perfectionists."—RM "You have to start."—RM "Press publish."—JS "If your thing will make your audience better today than they were yesterday, you owe it to them to release it."—RM "There's only one way to learn how to screw up like a pro."—JS "If your ideas don't get aired, they can't take flight."—RM "If you want to be an authority, you have to put yourself out there."—JS "Perfect is in the eye of the beholder."—RM "You have to put your work out there if you want it to get better."—JS Links We Mentioned The Fear by Phiip Morgan The Resistance by Steven Pressfield Just F***ing Ship by Amy Hoy Noah Kagan YouTube Marcus Blankenship YouTube Anthony English LinkedIn Jonathan's Reading List Jonathan's book The Freelancer's Roadmap Seth Godin Interview - How to Dance with Fear LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

A few ways to think about how speaking might fit into your business strategy. Talking Points Three different types of speaking strategies What business models make the most sense for speaking The three stages of building a speaking practice Should you ever speak for free? How a product/service ladder comes into play when speaking The importance of knowing what you're selling and to whom Links We Mentioned Million Dollar Speaking by Alan Weiss Steal The Show by Michael Port LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Diversify your revenue streams by packaging your expertise in a variety of different ways. LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Talking Points What's the one thing that you want to be known for? How do figure out what you're ridiculously reliable at? What do people expect from or get from you? Who should you interview to become more self-aware? What should you do once you uncover what others rely on you for? Quotable Quotes "Ask yourself, 'What do people get when they get me?'"—RM "It's hard to read the label from inside the bottle."—JS (quoting unknown person) "Double down on what makes you unique."—RM "Sometimes people value qualities in you that you think are negatives."—RM Links We Mentioned The Brain Audit by Sean D'Souza LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

The pros and cons of working solo vs building a firm. Are you thinking about building a firm? Rochelle and I explore the pros and cons from every angle on this week's show. Talking Points What's the difference between a building a firm and hiring support staff? Can you grow a business without hiring junior employees? How to decide which approach is right for you. Are there ways to experiment with building a firm without betting the business on it? What are the differences between hiring contractors and employees? Don't let the market turn you into something you hate. Quotable Quotes "When you're playing with other people's lives, small leaps are better."—RM "If you're not ready to fire someone, you're not ready to hire someone."—JS "To build a firm, you need cash, patience, and humility."—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Some thoughts on how to attract your true fans. True Fans On this week's TBOA, Rochelle and I share some tips on how to attract your true fans. Talking Points You have to share your expertise freely and often enough to keep the audience warm. Sharing provocative ideas will attract good clients and drive away bad clients. If you're not creating any haters, you're not doing it right. Choose a medium that you're comfortable with and is popular with your audience. Quotable Quotes "A true fan is someone who will buy anything and everything that you produce." —Kevin Kelly "A daily writing practice builds true fans very quickly" —JS "If your work is mostly about executing then it's harder to find the time to invest in the kinds of things that are going to attract true fans." —RM "The problem with implementation work it is too easy to get sucked in to what the client wants you to do." —RM "Any stage you can be on where you can build intimacy with people is going to build true fans." —RM Links 1000 True Fans Pricing Creativity with guest Blair Enns LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

The pros, cons, ins, and outs of writing for your audience every day. Daily Writing Practice - Brilliant or Insane? Talking Points The difference between daily and weekly habits How an email list is different from a blog Why it’s important to respect privacy concerns in a community Why journaling doesn’t count How to write about the same thing every day without boring everyone How often should you reply to your list When to keep a rigid schedule and when not to Links Jonathan’s article about writing daily Jonathan’s daily list archive Jonathan’s student glossary Jonathan’s daily list sign-up Philip Morgan’s daily list Seth Godin’s daily list Bob Lefsetz’s daily list Building Community with guest Madalyn Sklar The #ASKGARYVEE Show Ulysses App Quotable Quotes "Writing daily is actually easier than writing weekly" —JS "I wake up, I put on my pants, I brush my teeth, and I write. It’s just something I do every day." —JS "Thinking harder doesn’t solve everything." —JS "Someone who's used to billing by the hour can start to feel like a supplicant. That is not where you want to be as an independent." —RM "Your idea gets better when more people share it and play with it and give you feedback." —RM "An email list is a closed community." —RM "When you write every day, your bs falls away." —JS "Text is where I play with my ideas." —RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

The more you know about your ideal clients, the easier it will be to attract them. On this week's TBOA, Rochelle and I talk about client avatars: what is it, how to create one, and why you should care. Talking Points What exactly is a client avatar? Questions to ask yourself to uncover your client avatar Deciding how many client avatars you should have How to make ideal clients more receptive to your message The value of sharing stories of transformation Links The Brain Audit by Sean D'Souza Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss Enjoy! —JS & RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Just how easy (or hard) do you make it for you customers to work with you? On this week's TBOA, Rochelle and I talk about just how easy you should make it for clients to work with you. Talking Points Putting up hurdles for clients can be a good idea, but only if they're intentional The types of product sales that should be frictionless, and the ones that shouldn't When to require that clients jump through hoops How to know when your marketing and sales processes are attracting the wrong kind of people What to do when money and trust are not enough to get a client to make a change What if your clients have a problem that they're embarrassed to ask for help with? Quotes "I'd rather put needles in my eyes than learn Asana."—RM "The teacher tells you what to do, and you do it or you can leave."—JS "If you let clients push you around in the sales process, don't be surprised when the push you around during the project."—JS "You don't get 'speakers block' when you're talking to someone you know well."—JS "Once it's on your website, you tend to forget about it."—RM Enjoy! —JS & RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Finding the threads in your own material. LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

How to package your expertise in ways that will increase your impact and revenue. LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

How and why to establish a POV for your brand. Links Elon Musk's First Principles Thinking Amazon's Flywheel Concept Blair Enns' Manifesto LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Publicity advice (and war stories) from PR strategist Ramona Russell. Links Ramona's website Keep California Safe LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

LINKS Rochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Jonathan | Daily List | Website | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter

Who can you help today? LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Using your marketing to filter out bad fit clients and customers. LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Are you being frugal or are you afraid? LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter