“Salespeople have Brochures. Experts have Books”
Dan Kennedy
The premise of Jay Abraham’s excellent book, Entrepreneurial DNA, is that there is no one size fits all model for predicting who will be a successful business owner. In fact, he identifies four distinct types with different strengths and challenges. According to Abraham, the most common type of Entrepreneur is the Specialist. They usually have years of education or experience in a particular industry, and their businesses reflect that focus.
The challenge for Specialists is that it can be hard for customers and clients to distinguish them from other businesses of the same type. How do you pick the best dentist, consultant, flower shop owner, dog trainer, or web designer? Chances are, their websites look like all the other websites in their industry. When there’s no clear cut difference between choices, your client may decide based on price alone. That’s why it’s so important to identify and promote your business with a value proposition.
I learned from Dan Kennedy, marketing expert and author that the best way to stand out from other businesses and not be viewed as a commodity is to become an author. Getting published puts you in the categories of expert and teacher as opposed to a salesperson.
Think about this: you’re considering two dog trainers, Mike and Terry for your furry friend. They both have excellent customer reviews. Their pricing is similar, and they both have great personalities and lots of experience.
The only difference between the two is that Mike has taken his training process and documented it in a book called ‘The Ultimate Dog Training Manual.’ He leaves a copy with you at the end of his consultation.
Mike’s book immediately elevates his position in your mind because he wrote the book on dog training. It makes him seem more credible, and chances are, he will get your business.
Using Mike, the dog trainer’s book as an example, here are a few power statements only authors or fans of authors can make. I modified from Dan Kennedy:
“As I explain in my book, The Ultimate Dog Training Manual, there are three steps to housebreaking a new puppy.”
“When I was writing my book, The Ultimate Dog Training Manual, I interviewed twenty of my clients to identify the top ten problems.”
“I read about the solution for Fido chewing on the furniture in The Ultimate Dog Training Manual, written by my dog’s trainer, Mike. I’ll loan you my copy.”
You can see how becoming an author can take your business to a whole new level. Of course, you do need to have a strategy for how you will use the book to generate more business. That strategy needs to be in place even before you start writing to ensure that your published book accomplishes the goals you’ve set.
In the example above, Mike was able to establish a position of authority with his dog training book. Not only could he distribute the book to prospective clients to help him close business, but by giving the book to his existing client, that person was able to happily make a referral because of the confidence he felt about Mike.
When you think about the many ways you can spend your marketing dollars, a book is hands down one of the best investments you can make. It will cost you in time and money to produce the book but after it’s published, the additional investment for printing and mailing will be minimal. That’s why some experts have called a book a bigger and more meaningful business card.
