The Business of Authority

NOTE: Rochelle and I recorded this episode before the terrible news about George Floyd hit. We both support the #blacklivesmatter movement and hope everyone will take action to support much needed change. Here’s a good place to start if you’re not sure how to help: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/How to make selling the invisible—your services—tangible in the mind of your ideal buyer.Why once you reach a certain level of technical mastery, your most impactful investment won’t be in more technical knowledge. What will drive sales far more than the technical aspects of what you do.Using stories, actions and visuals to give your ideal clients a taste of what it’s like to work with you.Fixing any disconnects between your marketing/sales collateral and the actual experience of working with you.The advantages of podcasting in selling services.Quotables“We’re taking something that’s not tangible and trying to make it feel tangible to someone who’s not an expert at what you do. “—JS “Once you reach a certain level of technical mastery, increasing it won’t change how much you sell or how well you serve your clients.”—RM “Your client’s experience of how good you are is…going to boil down to your treatment of them and your relationship, not the actual nuts and bolts of what you do.”—JS “All of the small…decisions you make on your website telegraph who you are to your potential clients.“—RM

In this podcast, decision-making expert Annie Duke discusses the importance of quitting in decision-making and navigating uncertainty. They explore enhancing decision-making through truth-seeking groups, mastering biased decision-making, and the effectiveness of 'want to bet' in decisions. The focus is on optimizing outcomes, challenging biases, and embracing uncertainty for better decision-making.

Learning to recognize (and redirect) the shiny ball syndrome.Is this an opportunity or a distraction: how to tell the difference.Getting comfortable experimenting with strategy-based tactics (knowing there’s no guarantee which ones will work).Why tactics used by others are data points, not a personal prescription.How focus—even boundary limits and some structure—can actually multiply your creativity and body of work vs. limit them.An example from Apple…Quotables“Decide where you’re driving and how you’re going to get there. Because otherwise you’re going one inch in every direction all year.”—JS “The more you focus on one strategy, the more serendipity occurs.” —RM “If it’s an activity that is…incongruent with your strategy, I’m gonna yell at you.“—JS “You can get lucky, but you won’t get consistently lucky until you have a strategy.”—RM 

1:15—Leveraging your expertise into an unconventional (short!) self-published e-book.11:16—Developing a “set it and forget it” course: how to price it and target your audience.14:06—Building (and pricing) high engagement virtual workshops.24:13—On-line seminars (think a workshop/self-paced course hybrid) and the rewards of building a peer group cohort.30:24—Starting membership communities and paid subscriptions, including how to leverage your time to increase membership value.34:50—How to deliver virtual advisory and coaching options at various price points and engagement levels. 38:50—Evaluating the difficulty of selling vs. delivering each model to help you decide what to do first. Quotables“ Having three options is a really powerful way to increase the money you’re making, but also to deliver more value to people who want to engage with you at a higher level.”—JS “When you align the way you like to deliver with what your audience prefers...that’s magic.” —RM “Different packages of expertise create different expectations in the minds of your buyer.“—JS “If your expertise is around something that really needs time to bake, then a seminar is a great solution.”—RM 

 2:16—How you can look at the world right now and start thinking about (and even betting on) what’s coming.11:20—The impact of potential fundamental shifts on how you work.14:20—Why this can be a time to increase the “altitude” of what you discuss with your clients (and how to do it).17:12—A strategic way to look at the future and how it meshes with your talents and passions.24:15—Adopting a mindset that works even when bad things are happening around you.31:11—Identifying your ideal sweet-spot—where your target market overlaps with your talents and passions.33:45—Contingency plans to deal with the fear that comes with change.37:30—The industry doing inspirational re-invention we can all learn from.Quotables“In this one year it feels like we’ll get 10 years of movement on this thing (working remotely).”—JS“Being there for your clients as a sounding board is where you as a professional advisor can be helpful, valuable and rare.”—RM “Maybe this is a time to be moving up—increasing your altitude in involvement with your clients—talking about bigger picture things.“—JS “There’s an opportunity here to zig while everyone else is zagging.“—RM 

 2:36—What’s happening right now with social media and how to reflect that back in your interactions.9:38—How to choose the right platforms for you and your message.14:09—Why Instagram is so engaging right now (and how to explore whether/how it will work for you).18:34—Joining the conversation that’s already happening in people’s heads.23:18—The core question to answer to be successful on social media, no matter what else is going on.27:09—How to create engagement in social media.36:00—How to put together a social media playbook to keep you focused and on target.QUOTABLES“If that’s where the people are…then I’m going to go flap my jaw there.”—JS “It’s about empathy—putting yourself in the heads of your clients right now…and then adopting that tone out on social media”—RM “Every single thing I post…I always think: what’s in it for the reader? How am I going to not waste their time?”—JS “People are going to remember this time. They might not remember exactly what we did, but they’ll remember if we were there or just slithered away.”—RM LINKSSocial Media Playbook  

Are you ready to let go?Talking PointsThe feeling of letting goRe-evaluating your choices amid the pandemicSpring cleaning different aspects of your lifeQuestioning whether you need all of the things you haveEmotional and mental letting goReframing your ideas and routinesCutting little anchors while bigger roots help to ground youGiving yourself an alternative dialogueDoing the things that you’ve been thinking aboutRelated Links:Your Money or Your LifeQuotable Quotes“When it really came down to it and I’m staring at four 7-foot trophies—do I really want these in the house?” –JS“How much better is it to do it not when your money changes, but when you change?” –RM“I generally prefer when I’m less anchored down.” –JS“It’s the idea that you can do things differently and that is good.” –RM 

Are you ready to construct your new normal?Talking PointsHow to prepare yourself for the recovery from this phaseTaking your own new normal and your clients’ new normal into accountRe-evaluating decisions and expensesGiving yourself permission for things to changeFinding new niches and opportunities through being helpfulQuestioning assumptionsMake time to really listen to what people are sayingAdapting to a catalystUsing your extra timeNot holding on too tightlyThe difference between worry and stressBeing more communicative during the quarantineSmoothing out the transition between your old normal and your new normalQuotable Quotes“I think it would be no surprise to hear that I think doing nothing right now is the absolute worst thing you could do.” –JS“I think there’s a part of this where you have to give yourself permission that things are going to change.” –RM“There’s a strong percentage of people who are taking this time to evolve.” –JS“The catalyst can get you started, but you have to adapt as you go, or the catalytic event doesn’t do you much good.” –RM

Debunking the misconception of 'Those Who Can't Do Teach,' exploring niche expertise in graphic design, transitioning from technical to consulting roles, and navigating toxic environments in technical communities are some of the intriguing topics discussed in this episode.

How are your habits changing?Talking PointsHow a change in routine can end up having an effect on your habitsHabits are about long-term goalsAnchor habitsTaking an inventory of daily habitsMaintaining a sense of control with self-controlHow personal routines can pay off in your businessHow bad habits emerge during uncertain timesBeing more conscious of bad habitsHabits that lead to a healthier businessThe difference between a routine and a rutOvercoming fearLook for opportunities to develop new creative habitsQuotable Quotes“The funny thing about habits is, it’s really easy to start bad ones, and it’s really hard to start good ones and stick with them.” –JS“If you’ve got an anchor habit that’s been interrupted by what’s been going on now, or something else that’s going on in your life, you have to find a way to get back the core pieces of that anchor habit.” –RM“We need to be emotionally healthy for our clients and for the people who depend on us.” –JS“I’ve actually found it relatively easy to stay on point because I already had those routines to begin with.” –RM