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My Biggest OMGs, WTFs and FMLs from 2 Years in Business

The first 2 years of my business were a strange, psychedelic mix of OMG, WTF and FML.
Lucky for all of us, I came out from it relatively intact and with only minor damage to my brain and ego (or so I think)
Here are some of those gems from my personal collection (and if you don’t get a couple OMGs and AHAs after listening, feel free to kick me in the shins)

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Primed traffic vs Unprimed Traffic

Everything shifts when you make this change. Most conventional advice of FB ads totally misses this part. They all have you sending totally cold, no idea who you are traffic to your OPT IN PAGE!

Money loves speed

Every time I create a programme FAST, it makes me a lot of money. If something if lighting a fire under you –  don‘t let it go out!

You are responsible for your brand.

No one else gives a shit. No matter how much you love the people in your team, no matter how much they love you, one day something will  get messed up and the only one to pick up the pieces  will be YOU.

Start thinking beyond email lists.

Email is only ONE of the many ways you can reach people. This launch I had 30k on my email list but TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND on my pixel list.

Likeability vs Authority:

Some brands position themselves as an authority. They are cool, aloof, they don’t  engage. Then you have me.  I built my brand on being approachable, I respond to everyone, I send voice notes, I reply to emails.  It’s like Ellen vs Oprah (I’m Ellen btw)

Heavy people or light people.

And NO I don’t mean weight.  It is how they make you FEEL. Work with people for a small bit first, and notice how you feel when you have to communicate with them. That is going to set the scene for the rest of your relationship.

Courses alone don’t cut it anymore.

If you plan to offer a course, plan another element to go with it. My programs, for example, include my community, my presence, my feedback.   And that is what cannot be ripped off.

Live events are the best and the worst.

Suddenly dealing with people one on one – having lunch and dinner and meeting people you have NEVER MET BEFORE.  It is all a bit much and totally enriching at the same time

Human beings are assholes.

When you put a human in a position where they can judge you, the assholes will put themselves on a pedestal which they have no place being on. They will be judgy & they will be mean…because YOU just gave them a license to be so. Unless you can handle  any kind of feedback  at all, do not ask them for it.

The post My Biggest OMGs, WTFs and FMLs from 2 Years in Business appeared first on The Persuasion Revolution.

10 minute summary of 1 life-changing, mind-altering book on persuasion, psychology & human brain

Made to Stick is one of my favourite books when it comes to sticky and memorable messages. This is also the book that I recommend and give as a gift the most. I love it THAT much.

The book teaches you how to craft sticky, memorable messages and how to do that even if you think your idea is lame. . You might think that some ideas are inherently sticky, I did too – but Chip and Dan share a six part framework that allows you to make even lame ideas sticky.

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S – simple. Simple here means presenting an idea in an easy to understand way and to do that quickly. The best way to simplify a hard to understand idea is to use a metaphor. Or equivalence as I call it. For example “Uber for lawnmowers” conveys the idea quickly without having to go into unnecessary detail.

U – unexpected. Our brains react to disruption FAST and it also allows us to cut through the clutter FAST. And let’s be honest if you are talking in the same way that everyone is used to, it’s highly likely that you’ll be ignored. (check out Nordy Stories in the book for more on doing the unexpected in a really good way)

C- concrete. This is all about painting a mental picture. Using sensory words & phrases in your copy is how you best do this. People need to be able to clearly see in their mind what you’re describing.

C – credible. Credibility comes from 2 angles. External; such as an accreditation or endorsement or Internal; where it’s your credibility comes because you found an innovative way to solve a problem. There are some really great examples in the book of these.

E – emotions. Emotions are what drive people …always has, always will. So why is there so often more focus on the logic or the rational aspect of the product? The book has some great ideas on how to tap into emotions to get people to pay attention to your message including the need to belong to a specific group.

S – stories. we all know that stories sell but Heath brothers show us HOW to sell through stories, what kind of stories are the stickiest and why not all stories are created equal.

Even if you aren’t in business the way you present your ideas, how you craft an argument, how you communicate with your children even will CHANGE FOREVER!
Check it out here (NOT an affiliate link)

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How to Use Equivalence to Close ANY Sale in 5 Minutes Flat

What exactly is Equivalence?
Equivalence is a nifty little trick to get people instantly interested in what you have to say and it works so well because it is a brilliant way to paint a mental picture quickly and without going through lots of fuzzy, generic words.

As an example what mental image do you get when I say:
Uber for Lawn Mowers
Airbnb for cars
LinkedIn for musicians.
TONY ROBBINS for tropical monkies (not really)

You know that Uber for lawnmowers means that this business allows people to sublet their lawnmowers when they aren’t using them.

You know that Linkedin will be a specialized professional social media platform for musicians

This is what I call equivalence.

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When to use equivalence?
When you want to get your point across quickly
When your business is a bit complex and hard to explain
When you are talking to someone who has no clue to the subject matter
When you want to stand out amongst many similar businesses
Frames of Reference & Associations:

Use a familiar frame of reference, for example, Spain doesn’t have Uber so even though they may have heard of it the won’t necessarily get it.
Please make sure it has a positive association – you don’t want a negative association.
Make sure it has the right association
Do not choose a reference which has more than one predominant association.

How to use equivalence for the win?

Look at the best global brands out there (Interbrand) and see how they do it, look at the best movie characters and fictional characters. For example Hermione from Harry Potter.
Look at what they stand for, is is longevity or loyalty for example – “I’m the Energiser Bunny of…” for longevity.

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