What it is and how to get it.
We used to say it’s not what you know, but WHO you know that makes the difference in business.
Not anymore!
Today, the question isn’t WHO do you know, now it’s all about WHO KNOWS YOU and perhaps even more importantly WHAT DO THEY KNOW YOU FOR?
That’s because your ability to grow a business and generate a great income comes down to one simple equation.
How many people do you INFLUENCE?
When you speak how many people REALLY listen?
To be an influencer you must be a LEADER and you’re only really a leader if others follow you, otherwise you’re just a guy/girl out for a walk.
This week I’m going to share with you the building blocks of influence, how you create it, build it and use it to help positively impact your clients.
If you want to build a thriving business today, then becoming a PERSON OF INFLUENCE in your industry is an essential to your success.
Let’s dive in…
To get started I think we first need to define what we mean by being an INFLUENCER.
One definition is, “Influence is the power to have an important effect on someone or something. If someone influences someone else, they are changing a person or thing in an indirect but important way”.
I prefer to define an influencer like the late Steve Jobs did, as someone who wants to make their dent on the universe.
An INFLUENCER wants to make a mark, create a legacy, and leave sign that they were here by doing something meaningful for people, animals or the planet.
They want to positively impact others and help those they serve to fulfil their true potential.
Influencers are willing to take a different path and brake with convention, to innovate and explore new possibilities.
In short, Influencers KNOW they are HERE for a purpose and they are committed to living that purpose EVERY DAY, (especially when the going gets tough).
Now that we’ve defined what it means to be and Influencer, let’s look at how YOU can be a more influential communicator in your world.
There are four primary steps you’ll need to learn to take and master if you want to be an influencer in your workplace, industry or community:
1. Establish Your Sphere of Influence.
Who are you and what value you bring into the world?
To establish influence, you first need to find your “Big Why”.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when marketing their business is they attempt to stretch their band of expertise TO WIDE.
They attempt to be all things to all people. They do this in the FALSE belief that it will help them attract the maximum number of opportunities.
When in fact it does the complete opposite.
IF YOU STAND FOR EVERYTHING YOU DON’T STAND FOR ANYTHING.
Creating a sphere of influence begins with clarity, ABSOLUTE CLARITY about who you are and WHY your area of passion, expertise or interest matters so much to you.
If you are fuzzy about your reasons, then your chances of enticing others to follow you will be next to ZERO!
When you have clarity of your WHY you gain other important benefits that will immediately boost your levels of influence with others.
Things such as, Confidence, Consistency and Charisma.
2. Find Your Audience.
To be an Influencer you need an audience.
You need to understand who they are, where they are and how to attract them into your world.
If the first question is WHY you want to influence, the second question must be WHO do you want to influence?
You need to be singing your song to people who want to hear it.
Remember it’s not about trying to attract everyone. You want people who want to fall in line behind your view of the world, and agree with your philosophy, ideas or approach.
Powerful Influencers understand their audience well, typically because they have faced the same challenges and obstacles. They share a commonality with their audience that creates a bond.
To find an audience requires you to be open, honest and vulnerable.
Influence doesn’t come from pretending you’re perfect and never made a mistake in your life. It comes from showing you are as flawed as everyone else.
It’s through empathy and understand that you generate the first strings of influence.
Entrepreneurs that come into my world KNOW that I understand the challenges of growing a business. I’m not a theorist and practitioner.
I don’t pontificate I get in the trenches with my clients and work with them to grow their business.
I started with nothing (less than nothing to be truthful) and despite (or perhaps because of) growing up in a working-class neighbourhood, in a 12-square housing commission home, with a year 10 education, I have been able to build a highly successful business (3 in fact).
My point is, my audience knows that “I GET THEIR STRUGGLE”, because their struggle was once my struggle.
To find YOUR AUDIENCE you need to start by identifying the people who want to know what you know.
3. Add Value Consistently.
The next step in the journey of creating influence is to give your audience the information they need.
Marketers call this phase Content Creation.
My audience frequently let me know they receive a lot of information every week and often they don’t get time to read, watch or listen to it, but they make it a priority to read my stuff.
That is of course flattering, but more importantly it points to the fact that the CONTENT is of value.
If you want to GAIN and MAINTAIN ATTENTION you must deliver highly relevant information, consistently to your audience.
It is only through the consumption of your information or ideas, on a regular basis, that influence can be created.
To build great content requires you to:
- Understand your audience intimately.
- Identify the problems they are trying to solve
- The answers they seek
- What they have tried before
- What was their experience
- What objects or fears are they likely to have
When you speak in the language of your audience about things that matter to them, and show a genuine desire to help them you will make better decisions in the future, you will have created influence.
4. Influence Action
By following the three steps outlined above you will have established a community, or movement of people that are eager to hear from you.
Now that you have earnt the trust and respect of your audience you are in a powerful position to influence their future buying decisions.
They value your insights and are now more predisposed to following your advice.
There is nothing new about the concept of having a call to action. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will be aware of this concept.
But as an influencer it’s not just about calling people to action. Because you’ve taken the time to understand your audience deeply, you can make recommendation that are far more targeted, relevant.
Your calls to action therefore, carry much more weight and the opportunity to take the next step with you is excepted by more people more often.
The reality is when you own the mantle of INFLUENCER in your industry prospects stop looking to at your competitors for answers because they are content in the knowledge that they have access to a genuine, generous and knowledgeable source that they can rely on and trust.
As a result, your calls to action are accepted more quickly and frequently.
It takes time, focus and energy to become an influencer, but the rewards for you and your clients can be enormous.
I have waited until the very end of this article to share a SPECIAL FREE GIFT.
I believe that learning how to be more influential is a key skill every entrepreneur should master.
In the future, as the marketplace continue to get NOISIER, it will be those who have the capacity POSITIVELY INFLUENCE others that will be able to build the most successful businesses.
That’s why last year I launched the program SPEAK YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS (SYWTS), how to become a person of Influence and Significance.
Since launching the program we have exposed hundreds of people to the power influence.
If you’ve read this far, I’m impressed, you are clearly SERIOUS about increasing your levels of influence and I’d like to help.
Here’s the deal.
On Thursday 6th of July in Melbourne I’ll be host our next SYWTS one day intensive.
You can see full details HERE.
Tickets are normally $297, but I’m going to offer 8 of my subscribers the opportunity to attend as my guest.
All you need to do is email me paul@paulmccarthy.com.au and tell me why you’d like to increase your levels of influence.
I’ve placed this offer at the bottom because I only people who are serious about becoming an INFLUENTIAL COMMUNICATOR to contact me.
If you want one of the remaining 8 spots email me now and I’ll see you on the 6th with over 150 other influencers who are hungry to mark their dent on the universe.