Chapter 1
Either You Are Visible or You Are Invisible
As the old adage goes, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? What about your marketing strategy? If you have the best product, service, widget, or invention and no one knows about it, does it truly exist? If the most talented person, the most innovative product, the greatest sales pitch to pass one's lips is created and no one is around to witness it, does it, he, or she exist?
The point is, you need an opportunity to do business, in order to do business. And regardless of your paradigm, whether you are a recording artist or owner of a small familyâowned and operated bakery, your craft, talent, or passion is indeed a business and must be treated as such, if you expect it to evolve and earn money. Sure, I understand it is your passion, and it is easy to get caught up in the love of it, but at the end of the day, your passion is a business. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and BeyoncĂ© are all brands, and despite all the fun it appears to be, they are in the business of sales: merchandise sales, record sales, concert sales. So yes, you need an audience. You can't sell something to an inanimate object. You need a real, live, breathing, responsive being to act as your audience, who essentially is going to purchase your product, idea, or talent.
In the performance and entertainment arena, you need an audience to develop a fan base from. You can't become famous if no one has ever heard of you. Even if you have the most incredible powerhouse singing voice known to man, if no one has ever experienced your game-changing talent, it is entirely irrelevant. The late Michael Jackson, formerly known as the King of Pop, exuded more talent in one pinky than some of us in our entire body. Yet, if Michael Jackson had a severe case of performance anxiety and put on historic concerts only in the privacy of his bathroom, with a shampoo bottle acting as his microphone, would he have left a legacy? Of course not! Because no one would have ever known of his talent. If no one has ever heard you or heard of you, you will never develop a fan base, get bookings or gigs, land a record contract, or become famous.
You could have the most amazing keynote speech, or be the most incredible speaker, trainer, or consultant, but if no one knows of your expertise, accomplishments, or capabilities, chances are you will not be recognized by the elite speaker bureaus and booked for speaking gigs worthy of your talent.
A career as a sales professional is no different. It can be rather frightening entering a career field that is solely or mostly based on commissions, such as a real estate agent or an automotive sales professional. Without the appropriate level of visibility, market awareness, and branding, you are going to have minimum success and starve (metaphorically speaking and sadly, in some cases, literally). On the other hand, a commission-based career can be extremely rewarding.
The field of sales is one of the most incredible careers one can embark upon. It allows you the ability to make as much money as you can earn, yet a large majority of those who enter the sales arena crash and burn, and are forced to leave their sales position for a traditional career or job with limited growth potential and no opportunity to earn massive revenueâand not because they lack the skill, ability, or talent, but because they lack an audienceâsomeone to listen, someone to purchase whatever it is that they are selling. Why? Simply because they lack the knowledge to effectively prospect for new business, become visible, generate leads, and create new opportunities to do business.
To be clear, it doesn't matter what industry you are in. It doesn't matter if you are a sole proprietor, small business, corporation, doctor, lawyer, psychologist, dentist, chiropractor, singer, musician, speaker, sales professional, entrepreneur, or author/writer/blogger. Everyone needs visibility. Everyone needs an audience. Skill, desire, passion, likeability, intelligence, hard work, dedication, tenacity, desperation, need, and having a great product or service just aren't enough. The bottom line is that you are either visible or invisible. So unless you're David Copperfield or a ghost, being invisible isn't a desired result for any profession. So how can you become visible? Congratulations, my friend, for recognizing the importance of visibility (mind-set) and your commitment to reading this book (skillset). You have taken the first step toward visibility awesomeness!
With the sensory and content overloaded world we live in, it is difficult to become findable, never mind relevant, especially if you lack a strategy, resources, content, and a commitment to stay the course. This book is going to give you a methodical, proven approach to create a massive visibility strategy, while creating an unfair advantage over your competition, and consequently increasing your profitsâa respectable goal for any business owner.
There is fierce competition out there, competition that comes in all shapes and sizes. And believe me, I've seen it. They are ready to inherit your customers the first opportunity they get. Chances are, when I say the word competition, a vivid picture of your direct competitor that offers similar or the exact products and services that you do comes to mind. You may even envision their horrid logo or obnoxious jingle, or hear the chant of their lame slogan, âABC Competitor does it best, yup, no guess.â But what about the competition of attention and stimulus? We live in the technology age, with tons of digital pieces starving for our attentionâfor example:
- Social media (the number one form of communication)
- Telephones (phone calls and texting)
- The Internet (surfing)
- Television, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
- Movies
- Sports
- Video games
- Radio
- Print (magazine, books)
- Nightlife (bars, clubs, casinos)
- And much, much more
You need to focus on how you, your company, and your product(s) are going to be found. How are you going to stand out against all of the noise from all of those different sources? You have to have a focused strategy, with a beginning, middle, and end in mind. I should probably mention here, early on, that I am a Franklin Covey Certified Trainer and Facilitator and continuous student of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have adopted the seven habits into my personal and professional life and frequently apply these principles to all that I do. You will hear me mention these habits from time to time as they have become deeply rooted within me.
How Do I (You) Get Found?
First, you must begin with the end in mind. You know that you want to be found, but have you put enough thought into what it is exactly you want to be found for? What are your visibility goals? What is it specifically that you are trying to accomplish? What is your purpose? This is very important to acknowledge, for without a clear purpose, you have no guidance and without guidance, you cannot control where you are headed. Frankly, almost any road will get you there.
I suggest you take out a notepad or open a new Microsoft Word document and take some time to answer the following questions. These questions will get your mind set in the right direction and assist you in understanding how far on the path of visibility you currently are. Keep in mind, the only difference between where you are now and where you want to be is what you do. You already have a great product or service, or maybe you are the productâyou just lack the roadmap to becoming visible. So, let's get those brain juices flowing and structure your end in mind.
What Is Your Product or Service?
Be specific, not generic, and make sure not to spread yourself too thin by trying to push too many services in one shot. By spreading yourself too thin, you risk diluting your relevancy and your potency, and furthermore, you risk taking away from your core competency. Chances are, you've probably heard the disparaging phrase âjack of all trades, master of none.â While I am not implying that just because you are good at multiple things (notice I said âdisparagingâ), you cannot possibly master one or more of those things, I will say that it is my opinion that spreading your focus can have an adverse effect. Also avoid being too generic or vague. You need to find balance and a niche, and work on solidifying your existence within that niche. A rule of thumb I live by and a concept that will be introduced to you here shortly is âbe careful of distractions disguised as opportunities.â
I am going to provide a few examples that may or may not be the line of business you are involved in, but the basic principles may and can apply. In fact, many times you can grab nuggets from other industries and experience major success because you are doing something completely different from your competition. It provides your audience with a fresh perspective. A lot of times I see businesses that are trying to keep up with the big fish and mimic just about everything that they are doing. They are constantly in a state of exhaustion (physically and financially) because they are trying to keep up. It's important to be unique, a leader, a trend setter. Sometimes all it takes is a little risk to try something outside the box, and the payoff can be extremely rewarding.
If you are, for example, one of the following:
- Car salesman. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a car salesman, be specific. Do you sell new or pre-owned vehicles? If you sell new, then what franchises? Do you have the desire to represent a large dealership, small dealership, independent store, or large dealer group? Do you make an effort to work with law enforcement and military members? Or maybe you focus on or would like to become more active with being the go-to person for colleges. What is your personal primary market area (PMA)? If you sell pre-owned cars, what do you stock the most of, or what are the most requested pre-owned vehicles in your market (by brand and model)? Do you have certifications? Over 60 percent of Americans suffer from poor creditâdo you specialize in credit needs?
- Singer. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a singer, be specific. What genre of music do you consider yourself? Pop, R&B, hip-hop, rock? It is no secret that there are many different types of singers and voices that range from power vocalist to gangsta rappers. There is o...