In this episode, guest David Avrin, an internationally renowned customer experience speaker and author, shares his insights on building a reputation over merely developing a business. He delves into the importance of being ridiculously easy to work with, discussing customer pain points and modern business challenges. David emphasizes the convenience factor, the necessity of adapting to customer expectations, and the value of effective content in building trust. His journey from corporate marketing to keynote speaking serves as an inspiration for aspiring authors and speakers.
Building a reputation is more valuable than just running a business, making ease and accessibility crucial to success.
Aspiring speakers must prioritize lead generation systems over performance skills to thrive and ensure long-term financial stability.
Writing a book elevates a speaker's credibility significantly, enhancing their personal brand and attracting more lucrative speaking opportunities.
Deep dives
The Journey from Corporate to Speaking
The speaker shares his transition from a successful career in marketing and public relations to becoming a full-time professional speaker. Initially working with major brands, he realized the potential of sharing knowledge through speaking engagements after being invited to present at an organization. He emphasizes the importance of understanding that speaking is not just about the performance, but about creating a business-centered approach, focusing on turning opportunities into leads. This shift in mindset has allowed him to thrive in the speaking industry for over 25 years.
Marketing and Sales Are Key to Success
Highlighting the importance of marketing and sales in the speaking business, the speaker criticizes the common misconceptions that passion alone can lead to success. He stresses that aspiring speakers need to prioritize creating systems for lead generation and conversion rather than just honing their performance skills. By adopting a proactive approach to outreach and understanding the mechanics of the business, speakers can achieve longevity and financial stability. The speaker illustrates this point by detailing methods he uses to ensure they remain competitive in the market.
The Power of Books in Building Credibility
Books play a significant role in establishing credibility and strengthening a speaker's brand. The speaker shares his view that writing a book is not merely for the sake of publishing; rather, it serves as a vital component of personal branding and authority in the industry. He notes that even if few people read the book, its mere existence elevates the speaker's status and generates interest from potential clients. This credibility translates into more speaking opportunities and the ability to command higher fees.
Creating a Customer-Centric Experience
A central theme in the speaker's message is the importance of being ridiculously easy to do business with, focusing on enhancing customer experience. He argues that in today's market, speed and convenience are paramount, as clients increasingly prefer businesses that minimize friction in their processes. By addressing common pain points, such as overly rigid policies or inadequate support channels, businesses can improve client satisfaction. The speaker emphasizes that companies must adapt rapidly to changing consumer expectations to remain competitive.
Identifying Competitive Advantages
To achieve success in a crowded marketplace, identifying competitive advantages is essential for speakers and businesses alike. The speaker stresses that quality has become the baseline expectation, and companies must look beyond that to distinguish themselves. He advises that understanding customer needs and tailoring services to address those needs can provide a significant edge. By creating unique and accessible experiences tailored to customers, businesses can foster loyalty and increase their market share.
Building a business is not nearly as valuable as building a reputation, and one of the best ways to build that reputation is by becoming ridiculously easy to do business with. Today, we are joined by David Arvin, a close friend of ours and one of the most internationally in-demand customer experience speakers, who has just penned his seventh title, Ridiculously Easy To Do Business With. David is here to reveal how business success and longevity start with ease, accessibility, and simplicity. We discuss his journey into speaking and becoming an author and the advice he'd share with anyone eager to follow a similar career path to his. We also unpack David's latest book by exploring the business side of speaking, the role of authoring in being a successful speaker, the biggest customer pain points that David is always trying to solve, and why building a strong personal brand should always be top-of-mind. To end, our guest reiterates his book's theme of gaining a competitive advantage and we are reminded of the REAL reasons people would want to do business with you! Tune in for all this and much more.
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