Are you wondering how to stand out from everyone else who does what you do?
If you want to serve and impact people in a meaningful way, there’s a key skill you need: INFLUENCE.
Without the skill of influence, we rarely make an impact on others, even if we’re excellent at what we do.
In 2009, I arrived in the UK with just a suitcase. I barely knew anyone. I had no credit card, no job, and no money to start a business. Within 6 months, I was earning the equivalent of $2,000+ AUD every week, using the skill of influence.
This was in London, a big city that is known for being hard to crack.
But doing business in London is like any other city in the world because it’s full of people.
People everywhere respond to the skill of influence.
It’s based on clearly communicating your value and packaging it in a way the market finds irresistible.
You don’t have to have a university degree, a lot of money, a big following, or be the best in your industry.
People with influence attract the right people to them and it isn’t a struggle.
“Influential people don’t chase, they attract.”
Influential people don’t chase, they attract.
They’re treated with respect and others listen when they speak.
They’re well connected, they attract high-vibe people, and they have a lot of fun.
People with influence get chosen over others in their industry.
It doesn’t take years to become a person of influence. In our online world, you can influence people quickly using social platforms.
When you know how to influence others by clearly communicating your value, and package it in a way that people find irresistible, people choose YOU over the many other options.
So I have a question for you: How often are you showing up on social media with an influential message?
It doesn’t take years to learn how to do it. It doesn’t take lots of guesswork and it doesn’t take hustling. It takes focusing on the things that matter most.
Here are 3 things you can do to stand out from your competition and influence the right people…
1. Rock Your First Impression
You only get one chance to make a great first impression.
I’ve met so many people at business networking events and seminars. Something I’ve noticed is that so many business people actually put people off from wanting to work with them because of the energy they give off.
They’re often unclear about the value they offer and they seem to lack credibility that others pick up on.
It’s not that they are bad people or don’t have value to offer. They’re just not clear and confident when you ask them what they do.
Sadly, they’re not memorable.
Others I’ve met deflect straight away saying something like, “I’m a chartered accountant, how about you?”
These environments are brimming with opportunities and you can walk away with so many great connections if you have the skill of influence.
That’s why at almost every event I go to I don’t aim to sell, but I do aim to influence.
I remember the first time I met this guy called Matt at a business event about 7 years ago. He was in his early 20’s. I remember his first impression so clearly.
I asked him about what he did and within the first few minutes, he told me about the online business he was working on and his dream to become a millionaire.
He said it with so much conviction, I remember thinking, “He’s going to make it”.
I watched him over the years, and sure enough, he now has over 127,000 followers on Instagram and is an 8-figure entrepreneur.
Matt has the skill of making a great first impression through his conviction, certainty, and confidence.
Another way to make a great first impression is to make sure your online presence shows your credibility.
If someone Googled you right now, what’s the first impression they would get about you?
“In the online world, you are who Google says you are.”
There are a few things you want to have in place.
First of all, want to come up on the first page of Google. And there should be multiple things that come up. You do that by having a presence in multiple places, not just your website.
A good question to answer is, “When people search for you on Google and in social media platforms, do they find someone who they would invite to speak at a summit, or on their podcast?” That’s my litmus test.
It can take time to build a strong online presence but if you are working on becoming a person of influence, these are the things that you need to think about. The things that give people a positive first impression of you.
It’s essential to have a really well-thought-out profile on social media that is specific, results-focused, and shares exactly who you are and what you do.
It also needs to include a great personal pitch and if your profile has these elements, you are likely to get opportunities consistently.
I got invited to speak at a summit recently by a lady in California who found me in a Facebook group. She found me because I’m visible and know how to clearly communicate my value online.
It doesn’t take long to clean up your online profile. If you’ve not updated your website lately, maybe it’s time to freshen it up.
Also, it might be time to go over your social profiles and tweak your bios and connection statements and make sure they are giving off a good impression.
2. Get Great Results For People
This is so simple but if you’re not getting great results for people, then this is what you have to focus on.
If you don’t have great results-based testimonies that have a written and video testimonial, then this is a priority for you.
If you’re not getting results with people, it’s very hard for people to choose you over other people who have great results-based testimonials. Please do whatever it takes to get tangible results with people.
If you have to go and offer free coaching with people so you can get testimonials, then that’s what you have to do. Social proof is so powerful.
“Confidence comes from competence.”
You can do all the affirmations and the mindset work to get yourself confident, but the best way to get confident is actually being really freaking good at what you do.
You’ve just got to be working with people. Facebook is full of people that you could work with and get a result for. I did hundreds of coaching sessions with people without charging.
I did loads and loads of free strategy sessions. Do whatever you need to get results so you can have solid testimonials that will bring you in clients.
3. Have A Clear Problem And Solution
Having a clear problem and solution makes you stand out. The more niche you are, the more memorable you are.
If you’re a life coach, how are you going to stand out from all other life coaches in your industry?
You need to be super clear on your problem and how you solve it. This makes you stand out.
Becoming super clear on your message can be one of the hardest things to do.
When you’re choosing a clear problem and solution you want to look at the sophistication level of your ideal client. Are they just starting out or are they well on their journey?
I’ll give you four examples from people I’ve helped become clear on their problems and solutions so they could really identify and reach their niche market.
One of my clients helped women handle ex-partners with who they had children with. We worked her niche statement to be:
“I help Mums to navigate co-parenting with their ex-partner to create a harmonious family.”
I had a real estate coach who I helped rework their niche statement to say:
“I help Real Estate Agents to make more sales and to build their business from six figures to seven figures a year.”
A personal trainer’s niche statement was: “I help busy mums to improve their health and fitness.” We reworked it to say:
“I help Mums of toddlers to stay in shape by working out at home.”
This is a super simple statement, but it’s very clear.
Finally, a client I helped who was a mindset coach define her niche to:
“I help women recover from self-doubt to create rock-solid confidence and start dating again.”
This took a lot of courage as she was worried she would cut out a lot of clientele. But this really made her stand out over others.
And finally, make sure that you are leveraging your own personal story. No one else has your story. Your journey has so many experiences and things that you’ve already overcome that you can use to increase your influence.
“Your real wealth is in your story.”
Your journey, your passions, and your experiences are not meaningless … they are a goldmine.
You probably already have lots of examples of people you’ve helped and value you’ve added to others’ lives. When you use what you have and refine it, you can better communicate your value.
Refine your language around your story so that it becomes valuable in the marketplace, and do it boldly. You want to stand for something and you want to stand against something.
When you do that, you stand out to other people.
It doesn’t take years, it doesn’t take hustling and grinding, it just takes focusing on the right things.
I help people get crystal clear on their message and effectively communicate their value through their content and presentations so they can attract and sign up more of their ideal clients.
If you need help with this, I offer a free 45-minute strategy session where I create a personalised business roadmap for you.
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