Part 4 Business is Different for You: Rattle the Cages!

So, in just three days of this series on how business is different for you, you have:

1.) Recognized that you’re hiding out in mediocrity and that it’s beneath you to continue doing so;

2.) Taken yourself onto the dry, cracked soil of your business and life and, fist raised to the skies, generated your own Scarlett O’Hara moment, declaring, “As God is my witness, I will never ___________ again!” You have decided to do things differently.

And 3.) Recognized that the reason to be different is so you can be seen and heard in this marketing-crazed world—but that you have been taking business advice not meant for you. You need to stand out in a way that is worthy of you and that works.

So, what works in this day and age?

Well, anything that appeals, attracts and stands out.

And what does that? Whatever lingers. Almost nothing lingers anymore.

So, what lingers?

Ideas and statements that interrupt long-held patterns and world-views. 

When something crashes through the ceiling of what we know, shattering what we believe with new insight, new information, it captures our brain’s attention.

The BRAIN attends immediately to 3 things—what is: relevant, novel and emotional.

BrainAttends

So, interrupting a pattern inserts something very new into your prospect’s environment. You’ve had the experience of a new and contrarian point of view coming out of left field. The brain cannot look away because the idea is novel.

And interrupting a pattern also evokes emotion. Often it upsets you. But sometimes it evokes awe, or excitement, or fear–but whatever it is, because it tapped an emotions, it burrows under your skin and you can’t get rid of it. Think of one right now. Maybe it was a new religious perspective you discovered when you were sixteen. Maybe it was a new scientific viewpoint you heard just last week that has uprooted everything you’ve believed to that point.

These new ideas that infiltrated your bubble of awareness interrupted a long-held pattern and world-view of yours and hit you emotionally–and so you remembered it. It lasted. Because the brain is wired to attend to what is emotional.

That’s lingering. And it’s rare.

New, provocative information that “breaks the schema”—the current understanding of your prospects–grabs their attention. It appeals, attracts and stands out–and literally lays down new pathways in their brains that were not there before your message.

I am going to say that again: Because you are activating the brain’s attention with relevancy, novelty and emotion—you are creating a hairline neuronal pathway in their brain.

That. Was. Not. There. Before. Your. Message.

How cool is THAT??

THAT is the power you can yield—in your marketing. In your branding.

And it is not some lofty goal. It is a requirement.

This is what I meant, at the end of yesterday’s post, when I said that leadership would differentiate you—not all of the typical and superficial branding solutions out there.

A leader has this kind of message; this kind of impact.

But you won’t be just any leader.

You need to be a thought leader, defined as:

Someone who wakes people out of denial, who breaks the ceiling of conditioned thinking, shakes people out of blind acceptance and ultimately, shatters paradigms.

It is the thought leader who interrupts long-held patterns; breaks “schemas.”

Thought leaders see what everyone else can’t—the myths and Kool-Aid peddlers—and as a visionary, they see new landscapes.

But just doing that is not enough. You cannot rattle cages and hope to influence. You must be able to inspire those within those cages to dare to fly.

That’s where the inspired leader comes in: Someone who, in words and deeds, causes others to aspire to something inspiregreater in themselves, and greater than themselves, than they ever imagined possible, igniting a change.

If your work is to empower people, I’ve said, you are a different breed of entrepreneur—and you are a natural inspired leader. Know that. Own that. But that’s not really enough, either.

To have a powerful impact on your prospects in your book, TED talk, 1-1 presentations, YouTube videos, blog posts (i.e. your marketing), you must be a blend of both a thought leader and an inspired leader.

Someone on public platforms who disrupts the status quo with a serious wake up call and a vision of a new vista—and then inspires folks to dare to travel there.

I ask my live audiences, are you an inspired thought leader?

Everyone raises their hands.

Then, I ask: Are you an inspired thought leader in your marketing?

The hands plummet.

And I tell them that they’re not alone; that almost no one is delivering this kind of message, this kind of leadership. That’s because most everyone crowds together in the middle-of-the-curve.

But not you.

Not you.

You can and must do it differently. To honor yourself, and the Impulse that brought you to this work of empowering humanity, it is required that you leave the pack and dare to shatter paradigms.

That’s what changes lives.

And that is an invaluable result in today’s world—and I dare say, what you were born for.

So, are you an Inspired Thought Leader?

In your marketing?

I’ve got you covered.

Click here to read the end of this series, where I explain the 5 pillars of an ITL message and what makes it so incredibly different from anything else out there–and from what you are doing now.  A change, it is a comin’!!

Disruption-without-interuption

Can Anyone Else Figure Out Your Message? And Do They Buy It?

48 hours ago, a group of very special people were taking part in the
2nd day of my public speaking training, Secrets of Impact & Influence.
I can’t tell you what they were doing–because that’s one of the secrets–
but they were under some pressure to put into practice everything I
had taught them the day before. I just love doling out pressure to my
students!

Anyway, at a point later in the day, I was helping them look at the big
picture of where their presentation fits into their business–because
they were all visionary entrepreneurs with big messages that they want
to deliver. Here they were, learning how to be better than trained teachers
and absolutely better than 99% of presenters out in the word–but then
what?

Since you have a message, too–and since the time has come for you
to come out of hiding and deliver it–I think it would benefit you, too,
to realize the necessary components of getting out there and successfully
spreading your word while also successfully building a business!

So, you have an idea of what your life-changing message is, and you have
years and years of experience, knowledge, wisdom and insight to share
that will change the world. What I have come to learn myself is that those
with big messages often get buried under the largeness of everything
they know–and have a very  hard time speaking about their messages clearly.

For instance, I can’t tell you how many people say to me, “Lizabeth, I have
so much content. How do I know what to put into a presentation?” They’re
buried…and that’s just pertaining to a single program. What about their
business at large
and trying to describe that in a succinct manner? It’s
just like their content: it’s too big, too unwieldy.

So, how do we speak when something is too big, very UNformed, and
consequently, very unclear? We ramble, go off-point, say things that
have no relevancy to our prospect–and we lose them.

The NUMBER ONE element missing from business clarity AND clarity
around what to put into a presentation is strategic thinking. I’m not
sure why, but most visionary entrepreneurs, with big messages and lots
to give to others, are putting out fires daily and NOT thinking out every
step in their business. They’re trying to make money today, right
now–and not planning how that quick-fix will fit into the long-term, or
even if it does fit in. Very often the class they create on a whim, or the
coaching offer they make just to make money for the month, has no
bearing on the big picture, and they are like hamsters on a wheel, having
to create something new to offer every month. It’s exhausting because
nothing they’re doing has roots. There is no strategy. 

Sounds familiar, huh? So, what can you do? You have to take a time-out;
incubate yourself for a critical period of time and take stock in where
you’re going and how you will make money. Not just for today, but for
always. What is the business model you should be developing that will
work for a good solid few years? That is determined by knowing how you
plan to disseminate your message, ultimately. Do you want to be a coach
only? Do you want to have a radio how with sponsors? Do you want to be
a keynote speaker? Or a trainer, like I am?  You must know who you want
to be at the “pinnacle of your success”–and then build your business model
from that knowledge…and yes, that often means revamping the business
you have had for years!

In this incubation period, you must also check to see just how market-
able
you really are. Do people want your message, really?? Or has that
been done to death? And if someone does want your message–who
wants it–and do you know why they want it so much? Do you know
what wakes them up in the middle of the night and what they fantasize
about? You must–IF you want to successfully deliver your message
to them.

Also, in your time of incubation, you need to know precisely how
you’re different from everyone else out there. How do you set your-
self apart  in dynamic ways that stand out? Here’s one idea, something
a little radical: stand out by standing on top of a proverbial mountain
top and shouting your “prescription for change in the world.” What is
your belief of what will change the world? (Not your business solution,
but a solution that transcends that; that is a universal truth.) And
here’s the radical part: say that in your marketing. Shout your beliefs
in your marketing. This will set you apart from all others without
question!

Next, in your incubation period, you must come to understand what
your business thesis is. You know what a thesis statement is, right?
Well, you need one–a clear, concise one–for your business. What is
your contention, as the expert of your service? You have one, but I
guarantee you are not building your entire business around a strong,
clear,
well-articulated business thesis. Very few businesses do
this–and it is even rarer for the “inspired leader”-type to think this way.

So now, you have a business vision…you know you’re marketable
and why…and to whom, specifically…and what will have you stand
out from everyone else who does what you do…and you have that
“from-the-mountaintop” message…and the thesis statement that
your whole business stands on. Whew! You’ve put yourself into a
strategic pressure cooker!

NOW–and only now– you know HOW you should deliver
your message!
With all of that work, you know what your programs
and presentations should be. No more confusion about having too
much content. Suddenly, your business isn’t unwieldy, and you can
speak about it with crystal clarity and conciseness so people are
interested in hearing your message.

Personally, I believe that all of that strategy needs to be refined so
crisply and tightly that you could express any element of your
business in a single sentence, if asked. So, if someone says, “What
do you do?” You can answer–in a single, potent sentence. If someone
says, “I know someone who does that.” You can swoop in with a
killer sentence that shows them that, no, NO ONE ELSE does what
you do. Here’s how you’re different. And if someone wants to know
the tangible results they’ll get from working with you–you can
rattle them off, like bullet points, in a single sentence.

What you can describe in a single sentence, you fully understand.
What you canNOT, you do not.

I believe there are 12 questions that are always lurking in the minds
of your prospects. If you can craft compelling and pithy answers
to each of them–and speak those–you have the ability to convert.
Period. If you cannot, your conversion rates will be very poor. You
need to have your business identity so refined that you could balance
your business on the head of a pin. It is that clear. Is yours?

My mission is to ensure that visionary entrepreneurs succeed! That
they’re messages are truly received AND that they make money and
have a solid business model that works. I am devoting myself to those
who are changing the world with their messages because failure
is not an option!
They are needed too badly.

To that end, I offer a high-octane online program called “12 Sentences
and it starts next week. It is THE “incubation course” of all time and if
you are ready to birth a business that is powerfully set up to truly deliver
the messages and content you have–I invite you to attend one of the
3 free calls I’m giving this week, where you can find out what the course
entails.

Just click right here to sign up for the calls Tuesday, Wed and Thursday
this week.

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