The Authority Builder Podcast

This is an excerpt from my new book The Magnetic Author Method. We’ll be selling the book when it’s officially released in April, but as a bonus for subscribers like you, it’s available for free starting today…until March 21st.Click here to get your copyFrom Chapter 2: The Unbelievable Impact of a BookMy First “Celebrity” ExperienceI’d been invited to speak at the Inbound conference in Boston—one of the largest marketing conferences in the world, hosted by HubSpot. I was all set to speak to a room of several hundred marketing agency owners on my unique approach to referrals. As I waited for the session to start, an attendee approached me…With a copy of my Unstoppable Referrals book in his hand, he said that he loved my work. He said that it had totally changed how he did business development.Then he handed me the book and a sharpie and asked if I would sign his copy.I’ll admit, I was a little embarrassed.I’m a pretty regular guy. Mom raised me to stay humble, and this was all new and unexpected.In this guy’s mind, I had celebrity status… at least at some level.I’ve observed the same dynamic with our clients when we help them write and publish their book. They often report that they experience an instant boost in celebrity and authority status with their clients, with competitors, family members, and potential clients.They’re the same exact person. They just invested the time and effort into having something to say and writing it down.And that’s just the beginning of the story…Get the full scoop in today’s episode of the podcast.

Confession time… I don’t like to “sell.” Over the years, I’ve learned to do it, but there are so many other things I’d rather be doing. Understanding this about myself, I began finding ways to virtually eliminate the need to sell. Along the way I discovered that there are three key decisions that  each new client makes before they write the check. I also discovered that I could get them to make those decisions in my favor before we ever met each other. That meant that I was only ever “selling” to a pre-sold prospect. As far as they were concerned, I was already their “guy.” Today’s episode breaks down how you can do the same, so that you’re only talking with pre-sold prospects who already know they want YOU. Listen now

It used to be that most anyone in “professional services” made bank… Have you noticed that’s changed? Everything from law, to medicine (the traditional professions)... to accounting, engineering, architecture, consulting, and all the others are now seeing intense commoditization. And that’s creating two “classes” of professionals:Pair-of-hands expertsTransformational leader experts And only one group is going to be paid well in the future. In today’s episode, you’ll see how the Great Sorting is happening, and what you can (and should) do now to get yourself into the right group.

Everything you need to know about WHAT it takes to run a successful business is already out there in a book or a seminar or on YouTube. It’s an entirely different matter to understand HOW to grow and lead a successful business. That’s why I’m excited to bring you this conversation with agency coach Tim Kilroy. Tim brings a perspective to growing your business that we haven’t covered here before. It’s a perspective that is really important for business leaders in service and expertise companies, or any company trying to scale up and avoid the struggles that can come with that. I talk with Tim about a number of important topics, including: How to shift from being a business builder to a business leader What causes businesses to struggle to scale up Why it’s important to know what validates you in your business And much moreWe detail several key actions you can take to begin building a team now to serve your clients and free you up to spend time on the things that validate you. Don’t miss this one. Listen now!

As entrepreneurs, we are experts at launching ideas and marketing them to clients. We have the business model and the fire to implement them successfully. But we run into problems when we scale the business to a level where we can no longer be the Chief Everything Officer.  Every entrepreneur faces this challenge at some point, the “what got you here won’t get you there” moment. The ones who insist on continuing to do things the same way no matter what will burn out and lose their vision for the business. The smart ones will do what my guest, Richard Shaull did.  Richard is the founder of Unleashed CEO. His company helps entrepreneurs scale and create Time Freedom by building a self-managing leadership team. Richard and I discuss the process he has developed, including: Which position should be first on your Leadership Team What to look for when hiring self-managing leaders How to weaponize your business vision to attract the best team And more… Free up hours of your time every week with a few simple steps, and watch your business thrive. Listen now and be sure to check out the free resources on Richard’s website.

Ok…two weeks ago, we covered the main reasons why you might not be getting all the referrals you should. Last week, we covered how to leverage your best ideas to 10-x your referrals right away.Today, you’re going to see how to exponentially grow your referral network, and the number of referrals you receive each month.Now, you might be thinking…”Exponential, I’d be happy with 10 more referrals a month if they were consistent.” And that’s great. But the single biggest barrier to raising your prices, to bigger profits, and to sleeping soundly at night is a lack of lead flow/opportunity.The process you’ll get in today’s episode will show you how to create a continually expanding network of enthusiastic referral partners, so that you always have more referrals than you need.Part 3 is live now…

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series of building your “by-referral-only” client flow this year. If you missed Part 1 you can find it here.Last week, we looked at why the old model of referrals doesn’t work consistently. Today, we’re diving into the mechanics of the new, easier model.In this episode, you’ll discover how to use your best ideas to multiply your referrals…How to create a “mission” bigger than you that your clients can buy into (and why it’s essential to growing referrals)...Why you need to move down the buyer-readiness pyramid if you want to smooth out the feast-or-famine cycle of business development.Part 2 is now live…

It’s the new year, and time to get refocused on the basics…block and tackling. In business development, that means referrals.Why?Referral prospects are 400 times more likely to do business with you than prospects from cold media or cold outreach. FOUR. HUNDRED. TIMES. MORE.When surveyed, 64% of business owners say they get the majority of their business from referral.Yet, 80% say they have no system or process for generating referrals.So…Starting this week on the podcast, I’m doing a 3-part series to help you build your “by-referral-only” pipeline of new clients.Part 1 is live now… 

We’re here at the start of the year, and I’m recommitting to working less (while making more).I started the journey last summer, and here’s what I found when I created the structures that allowed me to increase my free time (only working 4-days a week) …We almost immediately experienced rapid growth.So much, that within short order, that growth surpassed the capacity of those new structures and I was back to the grind.So…I’m going into the new year with further enhanced structures and team capabilities designed to manage the growth. And, I’m recommitting to freeing up a day a week.In this episode I cover what I’ve learned over the last six months and how I’ll be applying those lessons going forward.

Any business can grow and scale in good times.Can your business thrive and survive through tough times?John Jantsch has 5 steps for consistent growth that any company can utilize in any business climate. The author of The Ultimate Marketing Engine and Founder of Duct Tape Marketing returns to the show this week to talk about his new book, “hourglass marketing”, and how you can rev your marketing engine by making your business more meaningful to your customers.John trains and licenses consultants all over the world in his unique approach to marketing. In our conversation, he lays out that approach with a ton of actionable items for listeners, including:The 7 steps of the customer journey How to set up a Customer Success Track for your ideal clients Creating a “member mindset” in your customers that will boost business and referrals And moreModern marketing isn’t about tactics anymore, it’s about transformation over transaction. Learn how to create happier customers by helping them transform, and then watch as those customers drive your referral engine to new heights. Don’t miss out!