THE MAGAZINE COACHES & CONSULTANTS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!
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CLUBS: Weapons
or Just Groups of People?
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How Your Next Executive Role Finds You With Rob Hays, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Lenovo
LinkedIn Pods: What They Do. How They Work.
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Extraordinary Leadership Qualities Page 37
Tips for Making Powerful Brand Videos
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Sarah Johnston ONE MILLION CLUB
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EDITOR'S NOTE I remember when I was young and wondered into the abyss of my mind, what would it feel like to make a million dollars a year? Fast forward to my 30’s and I reached to the top of the corporate ladder in the I.T. sector and invested in my first property portfolio - over one million dollars and I was so dissatisfied with my life. Then I thought, what if I could make over a million dollars in gross income per year and work for myself instead of making someone else's dreams come to fruition. So I left my corporate life to start my own company. That was 2005.
EDITOR
By Mary Henderson | Photos by Mauro Palmieri
I reached 7 figures in revenue year I have learned the power of patience on year and that also wasn’t enough. and I am so grateful that I heard that faint voice inside of me that said I realised in a flick of a moment that “stop and listen”. my life was all about chasing. I had enough. I knew that hitting the This month’s issue is called the million or multi million dollar mark million club and it has nothing to do was not happiness. It was a with money. It has everything to do destination. I missed the entire with understanding how to build journey. When I look back, what I currency in other ways that get you really wanted deep inside was to to your destination. experience the journey and everything that came with it on a Sarah Johnston was my choice for conscious level. this months cover because apart from the fact that she has one Fast forward to today and that is million followers on Linkedin, she is who I have become. I crave the an outstanding human and very journey. I live for it every single day. inspirational. I want to be the tortoise in the race and not the hare. Enjoy this issue. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 2
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CONTENTS 2 EDITOR'S NOTE 4 COVER STORY 14 BUSINESS: ANGELA VITHOULKAS CLUBS: Weapons or Just Groups of People?
53 MANIFESTATION: MARIA DAVIS Construct of Self: Clearing - Healing - Remembering 57 SALES: PAUL HIGGINS Sales Calls Tips and Techniques: What to Prepare Before a Sales Call - By Paul Higgins
17 PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING: DAVE CRANE The NEW Speakers Business model
60 EMOTIONS: OMOZUA AMEZE ISIRAMEN Reach your destination by confronting your emotions
23 LINKEDIN: ANDY FOOTE LinkedIn Pods: What They Do. How They Work.
65 TOOLBOX: JAN SANTOS Tips for Making Powerful Brand Videos
26 CAREER TRANSITION: GINA RILEY How Your Next Executive Role Finds You With Rob Hays, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Lenovo
68 BUSINESS TOOLS
37 MINDFULNESS: FALGUNI KATIRA 5 Extraordinary Leadership Qualities
70 PROMO
41 GROWING, SCALING, AND IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS: JOHN KNOTTS Number One Problem With SMBs
69 PODCAST OF THE WEEK
71 SUBSCRIBE TO AUTHORITY5.0 MAGAZINE 72 TUNE IN TO THE AUTHORITY5.0 PODCAST
45 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: LOUISE TAYLOR HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE OF DOUBT, AND CATCH A MILLION DOLLAR ‘WHALE’. 49 COPYWRITING: LEE ROWLEY Copy Triggers, Part 8: Trust Me!
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SARAH JOHNSTON
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want to introduce you to Sarah Johnston, who helps high-performers land amazing jobs. And may I add that she is amazing! She's an executive résumé writer and LinkedIn branding specialist. She's an interview and career coach, a speaker, and so much more. Sarah spent the first 10 years of her career as a corporate recruiter and development professional. She got tired of seeing
WRITTEN BY MARY HENDERSON hardworking people get passed over for opportunities because they didn't interview well or know how to position their strengths. What makes Sarah different from other coaches is that she can relate to the job seeker experience. And on top of that, she calls herself the briefcase coach, because she's made multiple cross-country relocations for her spouse's job and AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 4
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successfully launched job searches in cold markets. She's a mom to two beautiful girls, and also she has a million followers on LinkedIn. Sarah, welcome. It's an honor to have you as my featured guest in this month’s Authoritti5.0 Magazine.
I WANT TO BUILD A COMMUNITY, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO COME TO ME, TRUST ME, AND KNOW THAT I AM THEIR FRIEND FOR THEIR JOB SEARCH.
Mary:
This issue of Authoritti5.0 is called the One Million Club, and I couldn't think of anyone else to feature on the front cover but you, and not only because of your million followers, by the way. It’s also because you are so relatable and your bio actually does speak for itself. You're clear about what you’re creating in terms of content on a social media platform like LinkedIn and also off social media that clearly resonates with people. And honestly, I can put it down to one thing that your bio states: You can relate to people. You put yourself in their shoes. So I want to make this interview not so much about the one million followers, but more about the many roles you play. You're a spouse, you're a coach, you're a boss. You're so much more than the million followers because that doesn't define who you are. But I want to break this down for our listeners and our readers. Why do you think anyone on social media attracts a large number of followers? You must be doing something right that others who are in your space are not. So from your standpoint, do you think it starts with a clear intention? Can you just break it down for us? Is it how you show up on LinkedIn on a day-to-day basis that's giving you this gravitas?
Sarah:
So I think that the thing that you kind of touched on is that I'm very much a normal person. I didn't go to Harvard. I am not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I am a soccer mom with two little girls, and I started my business with basically zero marketing dollars to spend. I needed to find a way to bootstrap my business, so that I could connect with my target customer. When I was first starting off, I needed a way to
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get my message out to my target audience, with free content. It's easy. I did not have time for an SEO strategy to work for me because, I was trying to grow a business from zero to something because I wanted to quit my corporate job as a recruiter, be able to support my family, and be able to pay for childcare so that I could work. And I needed to find a way to reach my target audience quickly; social media and developing a social media strategy really worked for me.
Mary:
That is amazing. And I think that you just hit the nail on the head about when you're in a situation where you have limited funds so you can’t spend much. One of the things about a platform like LinkedIn, and you said it beautifully, is that content is free. And that is how social media platforms actually make their money; they need people like us to create awesome content to get the eyeballs to show their ads to. Let's break this down in terms of a blueprint, if you will, because many people who are reading this are also in the same situation right now. They're scratching their head thinking about how to actually create relevance and get eyeballs on their content so that they can be seen and heard. They’ve got limited funds. They love the LinkedIn platform, their target audience is there, but each time they post, they’re just not getting any engagement. How is that you get 600-700 likes and 200300 comments on your posts, when someone else is getting hardly anything? What is the difference in your eyes?
Sarah:
Oh, it could be a couple of things, but one is committing to consistency, and I compare content creation to going to the gym or to committing to a weight loss plan. You can't just eat healthy for one day and expect to lose 20 pounds, and it’s the same with creating and building an audience. You really have to commit to a long-term strategy. And so I AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 5
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I compare content creation to going to the gym or to committing to a weight loss plan. have been writing an original piece of content for LinkedIn four business days a week for the last almost five years. I can only think of maybe three times that I've missed a week. I've really stayed the course and have been very, very consistent in building that message. I think the other thing that I would tell someone who's new to creating content is to imagine talking to your target audience, or imagine being that person that you're talking to: What do they need to hear? And the more you can really connect to someone as you write, the more it's going to resonate with your audience. Too often, people write to a really broad audience, but I would encourage you to really focus in and speak to one person. And your content will therefore speak to many.
Mary:
Do you know what, Sarah? You just mentioned the word commitment and what I say is that it's not just committing to content on a day-to-day basis or a week-to-week basis, but it’s showing your target audience that you are a committed, consistent human being. That's how you roll on a day-to-day basis, regardless of whether you're on or off LinkedIn. And the other thing I want to add here is that you're a mom, a soccer mom with two young girls. You also have a spouse, you have a household, you have a business that you're running, but you still make time to show up on the platform every single day and also engage in others’ posts. So many people say they just don't know how you have the time to do it. I don't know about you, but I'm a master planner. My whole day is task-driven world. Is that something you would encourage people to do? Do you have a system in place or do you have a task list? Is it in your calendar? Does somebody else do it for you? How do you manage all of these roles in one day?
Sarah:
If we're speaking specifically about how do I manage to post on LinkedIn every day, it's because I know I have to do it. And when you know you have to do it and it starts working for you, you make it a priority when it pays off. I give myself a window between usually 7:30 and 8:30 AM. And when I create urgency, I give myself a deadline to make it happen. I also have an idea list in my phone. So anytime I'm out in the community or in line at Starbucks and an idea pops into my mind, I put it in my list on my phone. The other thing that I think that your readers would really enjoy knowing is that in order to commit to creating content regularly, you have to read and you have to consume content. And so I read something every day and expand my knowledge base, which therefore helps me tenfold as a coach. And I think I'm better prepared to work with clients because I'm reading, I'm engaging, I'm learning, and I'm committed to learning so that I can create content.
Mary:
Oh my God, Sarah, you are speaking my language! I'm exactly like you. I've got my audible books, and the more I read, the more I expand my cognition levels. My creativity expands and ideas just start flowing. That is actually a great point you've just made about reading books that resonate with you, or even ones that are way outside your lane, because then you start to put these pieces together and your content is not linear. I was reading your posts before this interview, and I love that you're not linear; some of them are thoughtprovoking. Some of them are about what I'm thinking today. Some of them are about advice. So correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a combination of angles, but ensuring that you're AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 6
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not linear; some of them are thoughtprovoking. Some of them are about what I'm thinking today. Some of them are about advice. So correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a combination of angles, but ensuring that you're sitting in front of your target audience, if you will, or one individual and having coffee over a problem that they've just shared with you. Is that your mindset when you're writing content?
Sarah:
Always my mindset. I want someone to walk away with a new knowledge point or something very practical that they can apply to their life. So while I'm learning, I want to carry my readers on my journey.
Mary:
I'm just loving this already. So at what point would you say that your journey on LinkedIn actually hit that momentum and your following took on a life of its own, meaning it required very little effort on your part?
Sarah:
I think that's a two-fold question. I would say that probably two years ago, I surpassed my income that I was making in the corporate world as a small business owner from the strategy that I set for my business using content creation and other lead-generation tools. I think it is going to always take cultivation and work, though. I don't think that you can ever say, we're on autopilot, I've got a million followers. I want to build a community, and I want people to come to me, trust me, and know that I am their friend for their job search.
Mary:
Do you know what, Sarah, when I see you on LinkedIn, I actually see you as the trusted advisor in the area that you specialize in. And you're right; it's not about the followers. They follow you because they genuinely want to become a part of your tribe. I think this is where a lot of people go wrong: They're after the followers, but they don't actually know who's following them. What you're saying is you care about your tribe and you nurture that tribe. You give them content, you genuinely care about what you write, and you make sure that whatever piece of content leaves your five fingers that morning AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 7
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I want someone to walk away with a new knowledge point or something very practical that they can apply to their life. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 8
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actually matters to the one million people who potentially could see that post. Would you agree with that?
Sarah:
A thousand percent? And that's why I hate saying that I have a million followers because that makes it feel like a number that I'm chasing, whereas I'm really focused on the relationship. And I'm just lucky that I got that number, but really the relationship and the network and the community are what I care about.
Mary:
Absolutely. So that leads me to another question. Do you think from your experience that understanding your purpose with clarity on social media or even off social media, when we're going to networking events, is paramount and critical to attracting your target audience and your target tribe?
Sarah:
A thousand percent. And I think you have to be really careful about the types of things that you engage with in-person or online, which is why I've never been a fan of those pods, where you have to like everybody in the pod’s content, because I want to make sure that I approve of the message that I'm commenting on. You'll find that I never post things that are fluffy and like cotton candy and airy that don't align with my tribe, my message, and my brand, because when you comment on things that are different or a different viewpoint from your personal brand, that can detract from the main message that you're sending. And so you want to make sure that all of the content that you put out there aligns with that message that you want to send.
Mary:
That takes me to the next question. You're a LinkedIn branding specialist. So obviously you look at people's profiles and you dig deep to make sure that there are certain criteria in that profile that matter. And I agree with that.
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I'M JUST LUCKY THAT I GOT THAT NUMBER, BUT REALLY THE RELATIONSHIP AND THE NETWORK AND THE COMMUNITY ARE WHAT I CARE ABOUT. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 9
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I think that the LinkedIn profile is fundamental to our success. You know, a lot of people land on my LI profile, see my About section, and book a strategy call. They don't even know me. They've never met me before. So that LinkedIn profile really matters from your standpoint and the audience that you're serving. Let's just talk about the audience that you serve, people who are actually applying for significant roles at a senior corporate level. Why does it matter to get your LinkedIn profile on brand?
Sarah:
Your profile is your digital first impression to the world, and you need to make sure that the message aligns with who you are and the PR the image you want to project the world. A lot of the people that I work with are C-level leaders, and their profiles haven't been touched since LinkedIn came out in 2003. They write their autobiography in the third person and no one wants to connect with them; readers want to connect with and have a real relationship with someone human. I believe it's critical for leaders to give that human first impression, so a lot of the work that I do with people is unpacking their stories, finding out what makes them different, showing their human element, why they like working with people, and what drives and motivates them.
Mary:
And I agree with you. It's the shopfront, isn't it, or even more it's a micro website that people go to first. What would be the one thing that you've learned about yourself and your presence by being on LinkedIn?
Sarah:
Well, I have known that I'm often wrong, but people will tell me I'm wrong on LinkedIn. And so I think that you have to get comfortable as a content creator being told that you're not right, or that your opinion is wrong. It will either strengthen your skin, or it could eat at
you. And if you're a coach trying to decide whether to commit to writing and putting yourself out there, you have to get comfortable with not being liked by everyone or not having the opinion that everyone else always agrees with. I think that every week I write something gets two or three hate messages from people, and you just have to get comfortable with that.
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discovery call, and I anticipated having to do a little selling. But so often, we’d get on the phone and they’d say, “Okay, Sarah, how do I sign up? How do I work with you?” And I'd be like, “Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Let's make sure that this is a fit. Let me tell you what I'm about.” And they’d answer, “Well, I've been reading your stuff for the last two years, and I'm ready to work with you.”
Mary:
And so that has been one of the Sarah, that happened to me last year. I surprising things for me about building did a post on LinkedIn, and I actually a relationship with people through got two mixed reactions. It absolutely content. The other thing that I've went viral in the first hour, but I had to genuinely loved is the relationships that remove it because 50% of the people I've made with my fellow coaches and were like, “Oh my God, this is amazing.” fellow content creators. I think a lot of The other 50% of people were like, “You people don't realize that we content know, this is a great way to destroy your creators have our community, and brand.” About 10% actually were we’re friends. A lot of the business that I trolling me and sending disgusting get is from referrals, and a lot of the messages. It was so bad. And when I opportunities that I've been given are took it off, people emailed me asking because of people that I've become “Why did you take it off? That was friends with on LinkedIn. That's been ridiculous.” And I said that I just couldn't another really huge benefit for me. be bothered with all of that. There was too much noise and that was not the intention of the post. It was just to actually think of the situation with a completely different lens, but people weren't ready to see it like that. And that's fine. But the trolling does happen. And you're right that, the more you grow, the more people will like you, love you, and absolutely despise you. So you have to get comfortable with that. What do you think the benefits are on a social media platform? I mean, you've got a million followers, we know that, but outside of that, there must be benefits for you as a business owner by showing up on LinkedIn every day. Can you share that with us? Sarah: One is that I've built a relationship with people through my content, and they come to me primed and ready to work with me. And I was not expecting that when I set out on this journey. I often got on the phone with them for a
Mary:
I love that. I think you hit the nail on the head about what people don't realize about LinkedIn. It's when people come to you, they're primed, and they are ready to start working with you. There's no selling involved because the content does the selling without selling. And also you're actually building a pipeline. The fact that people have been following you for two years, and then they come to you when they're ready, shows to me that it's a pipeline. How many times, Sarah, have you actually engaged with a new client who has been watching you on LinkedIn for so long, but never engaged in your content? And when you meet them, you’re surprised. But then they say, “I've been following you for two years.” How many times has that happened to you? Sarah: Pretty much all of my clients are that way. It's so funny. Like the people who were most active on my post are often not the people that ended up working AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 10
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with me. They're there, they're fans, they're friends, and I'm grateful for them, but those are often not my clients. My clients are the secret lurkers who log in to LinkedIn on Monday mornings and that's it. And they just happened to enjoy my post, but never actually committed to even “liking” it. So I don't know that they exist.
Mary:
Let's talk a little bit about what we touched on before, the community of content creators on LinkedIn and your circle of influence. Have you been able to build relationships from a business standpoint on LinkedIn? And if you have, how have you approached that?
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YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE CONTENT THAT YOU PUT OUT THERE ALIGNS WITH THAT MESSAGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEND.
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LinkedIn, which is a social media platform, but real life physical connections are even more important. Now with COVID, how are you coping with that? Because to me, you come across as somebody who is very much a relationship, face-to-face type of a person. Your energy is just so strong, I can feel it even over this call, but being face-to-face is a whole different experience. How are you coping with that during a lockdown?
Sarah: That's a great question. You know, I would absolutely say I'm an extrovert. I love people. I love being involved in my community. My past track record is that I am a doer. When I'm in a community, Sarah: I'm on a board, I'm involved, I'm I have! I created a new business entity, a wondering what's going on. And I volunteering. We moved to Chapel Hillfound myself having a scarcity mindset, Durham six months before the startup with two individuals, Virginia Franco and Adrienne Tom, who I didn't thinking what happens if this goes bad? pandemic started, so I didn't get to Is my business going to go wrong? I know before I met them on LinkedIn. build my base here before lockdown was very focused on the “what ifs.” And happened. So it's made it being an We liked and engaged in each other's content. We were going to a conference I had to take a step back and say, “You extrovert and a connector a little bit know what? This is not who I am. I don't more challenging. Plus, you know, I've together, and we arranged to meet have a scarcity mindset. I'm a there. We had drinks and we just really got young kids at home who have been connector. I'm a collaborator. I need to hit it off. We saw a lot of synergy, and in remote school and I've been be focused on this abundance.” And so homeschooling. So I think finding a we decided to launch a business together. And I'm so incredibly grateful sometimes being on a platform like groove and finding a rhythm has been LinkedIn, where there is an algorithm at harder, but I am also an optimist. And for those women in that partnership. There are just tons of examples like that. play, can kind of work on how you think. the taste of being out of this pandemic And I've had to watch that. I've been on other people's podcasts, is just really sweet, and I'm very excited I've supported other people's for summer and for the relationships businesses. I got invited to be in Kristin Mary: that I can build really soon. Sherry's book because of that LinkedIn It's amazing that you say that, Sarah, because you know my account got relationship. And so, I feel like I'm Mary: milking this platform for all I can get. It's restricted yesterday, as I mentioned to What do you do to stay relaxed? What's you before. I didn't go into shock factor, your go-to modality to actually get been so good to me. though; I was like, okay, whatever. I yourself grounded? What do you do? reached out to a few people who said Mary: Do you meditate? Do you do yoga or not to worry, because it's happening What would you say, outside of the Pilates? trolling, is the one negative thing about everywhere. But then like you, I thought, “Oh my God, what if my having a large following? Sarah: account doesn't get reinstated? I mean, I try to spend some time in prayer every what will I do? I've got to start all over Sarah: morning, having quiet time before my again.” And then for like five minutes, I I'll give you a real-life example. day starts. Also during the pandemic, went into panic mode. And then I Yesterday, I kind of got in a bad I've tried to commit to running one mile thought, “I'm just imagining this right headspace because I felt like my a day, and I know that's not like a lot of now. It's not real. I've got to take a step content hasn't been getting the reach mileage; I know that's not like training back.” And I don't know if you agree over the last couple of weeks that it for a marathon. But I think just the with this, Sarah, but we have to also typically does. And so I was kind of consistency of doing something take a step back and understand what analyzing the algorithm and analyzing physical every single day has been the real life world is like. Yes, we've got every single post that I've made and really helpful for me. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 11
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I've genuinely loved the relationships that I've made with my fellow coaches and fellow content creators.
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Then, you know, I love bubble baths. Mary: I can see you in a bubble bath, totally immersed in these bubbles all the way to the top. That's just wonderful. And I love that you touched on prayer because I'm a very similar person. I have a strong connection with my spirituality, which is an important aspect of who I am. I also do a lot of journaling, and I ask a lot of questions. I think one of the key things about me and the relationship I have with my business is that spirituality, which is the sandwich in between me, the physical, and my business. And in-between that lies this aspect of me that is very private, but such an important part of my success and also my connections with the right people in the outside world. How do you feel about that? Are your spirituality and your relationship to the higher intelligence, the higher power, whatever you want to call it, a critical part of this journey for you?
Sarah:
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WRITER'S PROFILE Mary is an internationally recognised Personal Branding Expert who knows how to commercialise a Personal Branding into a monetisable online (and offline) business. She is a speaker and author of a number of fictional & non-fictional books and the founder of Lights Cameras Action – an end to end online coaching program exclusively designed for coaches, consultants, startups and business owners that take them from idea to productisation and demonetization in months.
Absolutely. I think every single day it's centering to a place of humility and just focusing on how I can do the most good and serve someone who is greater than me. And so again, I think influence is important, but focusing that influence in ways that are for good is what counts.
Mary:
I agree with you. I have decided that it's an important part of my grounding, because I feel that you can do great things on social media and create great content. It can go two ways. It can do great things for community and for you, but it can also go the other way. And I see a lot of people going the other way, where it just becomes this ego centric presence. I think that it's a critical aspect for people to understand that if you want to create presence online or offline, the relationship that you have with yourself and your spirit self, and something much bigger than that, is the grounding that we all need to have a relationship with.
Sarah:
A thousand percent agree.
Mary:
I want to ask you this last question, which I ask everybody. If you could meet someone who is no longer living, who would it be, and what would you ask or what would you want to know?
Sarah:
There are so many amazing people who have done very brave things. And, you know, I have a daughter who's been studying Black History month and some women recently. And I just think about people like Harriet Tubman, who was so, so brave and risked her life for other people, and Corrie ten Boom. And I mean, just so many amazing women and men throughout history, who've just done radical, brave things. I would love to sit down and just pick their brains about what made them act with such bravery and tenacity and what drove them. I think for someone to do something big for other people is just so inspiring.
CONTACT MARY: maryhendersoncoaching.com Mary Henderson
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CLUBS:
WEAPONS OR JUST GROUPS OF PEOPLE? By
Angela
Vithoulka s
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e c i d u j e r P d n a y l e n rid O PM s ' r e b em AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 14
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What’s your first thought when you think about the word CLUB? Is it to add something in front like Chess, Soccer or Book? Or do you think stick, bat or a thick piece of wood? Or a denomination $$$? Isn’t it interesting that a group or association of people who are united with a purpose (a Club) could also be a powerful weapon? Welcome to the analogy of Club. Have you ever stopped to think whether you’re a joiner or a loner? Don’t answer too fast, give it a minute and mull it over…your vanity metrics may depend on it! If you accept that one definition of club is a gathering of people who share common interests or goals, then technically being part of any social media platform kind of puts you in a club. Of course, not everyone in the club has the same motivation, but that’s a conversation that might require flashbacks to childhood, medical supervision and perhaps a beverage. I recommend a balanced approach with an emphasis on the latter, preferably one high in antioxidants that’s had decent reviews and not reserved for salad dressing. I’ve never really been one to join clubs, its just never worked out that way for me. The closest I’ve ever come (outside of social media) is being part of survey groupings. You know,
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like age or gender groups, industry groups etc. I like to think it’s because I’m a complex individual, not a personality trait referred to by the FBI profilers…LOL. But on a serious note, it really could be the fault of my parents – too soon to share this? They didn’t set a great example of joining clubs- sport, social or “other”. They invented workaholic-ism, I fine-tuned it. They focused on building businesses; I focus on building businesses. Don’t jump up and down here people, I know there are BUSINESS CLUBS, but I would refer you to the word displayed somewhere above here – WORKAHOLIC. I hope that’s clear now and we can move on. So, we’ve touched on clubs as a group and possibly a weapon by default via power in numbers – same same right? But, interestingly, if a group of people go clubbing together, it doesn’t necessarily mean going out and painting the town red (apparently the data shows that young people don’t do this as much as their peers once did, OUCH!) it can mean they all pitch in to buy something together. For instance: "friends and colleagues clubbed together to buy ANGELA a present". See how I personalised that? I admit that this meaning is a recent addition to my expanding verb club. The personalised bit is old.
BUSINESS
Does society prefer joiners or loners? It’s important to note, that while I have confessed to not being a Club person, I would not be averse to joining the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge – known as Australia’s most exclusive club. Its invitation only and free and one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Yes, I have visited it but only as a guest. Amazing. Loads better than the firstclass lounge. Promise. But I digress. How can we determine or measure if a club, or if being a member of one, adds value to us? Does the value and power only lie with the entity or does the membership benefit because they are part of the co-operative? I think sports clubs present a unique perspective on this question. Their membership is full of diehard believers who follow their beloved team and feel their loss and triumphs as if it were their own, otherwise known as fans. They have an almost spiritual connection. You only have to attend a live game of some sort to bear witness to this. Shall we dare to enter the realm of factions and splinter groups within clubs? Another dimension of member power and the weaponisation of a club. It’s a tug of war between groups who supposedly believe or follow or participate in the same thing yet choose to evolve from within – religion and politics are great poor AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 15
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examples of clubs that have gone a bit off track. Or rather, one or two members do at first and before you know it a whole new world is discovered. (Sarcastic tones should be inserted here)
BUSINESS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
I believe we have come to a parallel path in our journey of clubs. One where there must be responsibility shouldered by the new type of club, the Influencer Club. This is where the membership chooses to follow a board of 1 in the hope that some of the sparkle will rub off on them. I am of the hope that those who have the power because they have harnessed the metric of scale will use this for the benefit of many, not just the profit of the few. I'm not opposed to the business part of any club, its how it stays alive. But I would like my first club to be one that fights for good, that supports many and whose shadow is warm. I want to follow beside the membership, I know that sounds strange – how can you follow by being next to someone, but it’s not meant to be literal. I want a club that’s lateral with its followers, perhaps adapting the US Marines catchcry “never leave a member behind”.
SO, YOU TELL ME. CLUBS- ARE THEY WEAPONS OR JUST GROUPS OF PEOPLE?
Angela Vithoulkas is a multi-award-winning business owner who has forged a successful career in public, business, and corporate life. She is the founder and host of a new YouTube Channel - SME TV And Podcasts. Angela’s many awards include NSW Entrepreneur of the Year as well as Telstra Women’s Business Owner of The Year. In 2017 Angela was named one of Australia’s Top Nine Influential Female Entrepreneurs.Angela’s political career began in 2012, since then she has been twice elected City of Sydney Councillor and Founded The Small Business Party – running local, State & Federal Elections.
CONTACT ANGELA: @angelavithoulkas www.linkedin.com/in/angelavithoulkas/
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PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING
The NEW Speakers Business model by Dave Crane
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Last year Anthony Robbins, the world's favourite motivational speaker, lost almost 100 million dollars in cancelled gigs. This year he made about 300 million dollars by using the digital business model I am about to share with you... Do I have your attention? Good. Well, read on… Some things are never going to be the same again. Being an entertainer and having a natural artistic talent that needs a live audience in attendance will not be enough to earn you a living for the next 12 months and maybe even beyond that. It's just too risky, most people don't feel safe in enclosed spaces and the economics don't add up unless you are still packing a room shoulder to shoulder with people. Therefore, these professions are currently redundant (and might never come back). Singers. Musicians. Comedians Hypnotists. Magicians. Jugglers. Mentalists. illusionists. Speciality acts. The list goes on and on.
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING
This allowed them to weather the storm and decide what happens next. So what DOES happen next? To discover that, let's walk back in time. To a pre pandemic entertainment and events industry. Take a look at the top level speakers business model… Their revenue basically came from these streams… 1. Live keynote presentations as an invited speaker. 2. Hosting your own events (evenings, retreats, festivals, conferences etc). 3. Training courses (face to face). 4. Training courses (online systems). 5. Online webinars (free and paid). 6. Mentoring (one to one) 7. Coaching masterminds (elite groups). 8. Consulting with clients who hired your keynote. 9. Selling books, audios and videos. 10. Podcasts (sponsored). 11. Corporate sponsorships (brand association for a year). 12. Affiliate sales (selling other people's materials for a commission fee). 13. Licensing your systems (creating a legion of 'mini-mes' selling your stuff). 14. Joint ventures (live events and bundled products and services).
PLUS keynote speakers. Even the best ones.
Of course, there are other sources, but will be enough to illustrate the point.
Please note, I am NOT counting going on Facebook LIVE and asking for donations to play requests the same as being a professional artist. Yes, there's money involved. But it's being a busker. Still entertaining. Still noble but harder to sustain when you never know who will actually pay you each performance.
NOW, let's look at the ones that still work today.
In retrospect, the smartest entertainers always had alternate revenue streams, made a fortune already or reinvented themselves immediately.
Every speaker I know went into lockdown and started discounting their bundled bouquet of
I know you will say 'all of them potentially', but the problem is the entertainment and speakers gene pool has been flooded with umm… EVERYBODY and anybody who ever spoke onstage anywhere ever. It's true.
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products and services at a bargain basement level to try and drive or restore some revenue. They were desperate so it made sense. Well, did it work?
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING
Well, lets establish some parameters... It has to do several key things. 1. You have to go to your audience. 2. You have to be a live hybrid broadcaster NOT a keynote speaker. 3. You have to create revenue streams that tie into this new ecosystem.
Not really. PLUS, it damages their ability to restore their stuff to the original prices because their followers remember that they devalued themselves and now their people won't pay top dollar for their brand again. It's true. You can ONLY be relevant when people can see the value. They need social proof that you are still worth the investment. They need to SEE that the motivational speaker with the recession beating system CAN actually beat a recession by taking their own medicine.
So now let's examine what a 'hybrid' event looks like: Limited live audience with masks, sanitization and social distancing. Great internet, cameras, sound and lighting. Super production that makes a top live TV show quality presentation. Relevant content that works best at that moment. Big audience watching ELSEWHERE at their convenience on their devices. Sponsorship, ticket sales or advertising to cover all the equipment hire, staffing and production. A speaker/ host who can present like a stand up comedian, game show host or rock star to an audience who might not actually physically be there.
They want to see you succeed. They want to go 'Wow'.
It's not easy.
Not 'Oh.. It's you again'.
There are a lot of moving parts involved.
Over the last 12 months I have watched my heroes and peers desperately looking to stay relevant when the events world turned upside down. Many took to streaming live on social media with their best signature keynote presentations.
Some get it and embrace it. Tony Robbins has now built a permanent fully functional hybrid arena the size of a tennis court. He is broadcasting to 25,000 people each time. If each attendee spends an average of 200 USD, that's a great way to go to work. He may never have to buy a plane ticket again.
They burned through a lot of golden material. You see, once it's shared, it becomes stale and old and people want more. Fresh out of the oven. Ready right now. Or they get it from someone else AFTER you whet their appetite.
Okay, it's easier for a billionaire, but it doesn't have to be THAT big. But, if you are not able to do something similar to this you are going to be irrelevant. Simply put, without an audience, then you won't be a speaker anymore.
So what's the new speaker's post pandemic business A small investment however does allow you to model look like? stream live on web TV.
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Why create your own web TV show? 1. You now have a massive branding, marketing and sales problem. 2. The world clearly loves watching videos (80%+ of internet use is watching videos). 3. Early pioneers get early benefits BEFORE the market gets impossibly crowded. 4. There are a ton of monetization opportunities. 5. Very few people use web TV (or even video marketing) effectively. 6. You can start immediately (finish reading this article first). 7. It can be easily learned and tailor-made to suit your audience. 8. Traditional media is dying (and it doesn't know it yet). 9. You can dominate your niche and be positioned as a thought leader. 10. You become an instant celebrity who people will know, like and trust. Interested? How do you start? You'll need these... 1. Home studio (greenscreen, lighting cameras, quality microphone). 2. Strong internet connection to stream live when possible. 3. Large audience on social media to watch, like, comment and share. 4. Something to talk about that people want to know. 5. Quality production software. 6. Practice. Lots of it. Gottem? Great. Well, the business model is simple… Create a show. Turn the audio into a podcast. Turn the podcast transcription into a blog post. Take clips from the video and turn them into memes and short video posts. BUILD YOUR BRAND AND YOUR FOLLOWING. So how do you monetize? Great question.
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING
I will answer that in depth another day, but meanwhile, you can do this... Take another look at that original speaker business model. Add your web TV show. NOW you have a gig AND an angle. And a very very BIG advantage. Consider how web TV affects this now... Work it out yourself… 1. Live keynote presentations as an invited speaker. 2. Hosting your own events (evenings, retreats, festivals, conferences etc). 3. Training courses (face to face). 4. Training courses (online systems). 5. Online webinars (free and paid). 6. Mentoring (one to one) 7. Coaching masterminds (elite groups). 8. Consulting with clients who hired your keynote. 9. Selling books, audios and videos. 10. Podcasts (sponsored). 11. Corporate sponsorships (brand association for a year). 12. Affiliate sales (selling other people's materials for a commission fee). 13. Licensing your systems (creating a legion of 'mini-mes' selling your stuff). 14. Joint ventures (live events and bundled products and services). Ladies and gentlemen, this is the NEW KEYNOTE SPEAKER. Can you see how much easier it is to create that on your own, from your home studio with the guidance of a successful mentor and a small investment in basic equipment? Remember… A. Conventional media (TV, radio, print etc was dying BEFORE the pandemic). B. After lockdown, people WILL remember who kept them company and helped them through the darkest times. C. The growth of podcasting has shown that people PREFER micro-influencers to big hitters AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 21
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PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE as long as they stay relevant and contribute to their future happiness and success. D. Most people are just waiting for the world to go back to what it was. E. Some things (like the media) will never go back to what they were before. What's the next stage? Well do you want to... Know how to produce your TV show? Create an effective set of online branding and production? Devise a show format that will also convert to a live stage and a hybrid broadcast? Gather an audience who will follow you long after the lockdown has ended? Position yourself as an Industry Icon, thought leader and high achiever. Get a ton of speaker gigs right now and into the future? Fast-track your learning curve and get straight to earning cash?
Dave Crane is a virtual broadcaster and United Nations permanent member. He trains industry leaders to speak and has worked with James Brown, Jack Canfield, Sting and Bruce Willis throughout his career an a entertainer and international host of some of the world’s premium events including 20 years as the entertainments director of Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, World Club 10’s, Global CIO Summit and Special Olympics.
Let me help you. 1. Go to www.speakonstage.com 2. Take my FREE 5 day Industry Icon mentoring program (register there). 3. Contact my team at info@davecraneglobal.com and set up a meeting.
CONTACT DAVE: www.bookdavecrane.com https://www.speakonstage.co m/p/industry-icon @davecranedubai
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LINKEDIN PODS: WHAT THEY DO. HOW THEY WORK. BY ANDY_FOOTE
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Engagement pods 'game' the LinkedIn algo by systematically showering pod content with reactions, (artificial) praise and (shallow/short) comments.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
Pod members act in lock step whenever pod content is created. You can spot pod gaming whenever you see comments like this within the 'Golden Hour' (within the first 60 mins of publication):
"I agree" "I totally agree!" "This is awesome" "Amazing!" "You are amazing" "Wow" The algo governing content reach tests for engagement. It is always being tweaked. In an ideal world, it would test for both quality and type of engagement. If beige/boring/unoriginal/gassy content is apparently doing well on LinkedIn - there's a strong likelihood that it is pod content. Pods sometimes charge for pod-boosting. Anyone who is: • New to LinkedIn. • Impatient, unwilling to build a tribe (which can take months, or years). • Perpetually frustrated by an algo that assumes that content that fails to attract engagement, must be shit content.
Andy Foote coaches individuals and organizations how to fully capitalize on everything the LinkedIn platform has to offer. He’s spent the last decade obsessively testing multiple engagement strategies and building a vast and supportive network on the largest professional networking website on the planet. He regularly shares his expertise and knowledge via LinkedIn and his blog (www.linkedinsights.com) and has also recently launched his FOOTE-NOTES podcast, an interview show which seeks to shine a light on intrinsically interesting people and their fascinating career paths.
May be tempted to try a pod. If you run or belong to a pod and you collectively boost pod content, you are technically breaking the LinkedIn User Agreement. Section 8.2.17 states that "You agree that you will not…interfere with the operation of the Services (e.g gaming algorithms)". What are the penalties? Friends in the know tell me that LinkedIn is cracking down on pods and automation. If you're caught breaking the rules, you could just get a warning or a suspension. Suspension is problematic because LinkedIn makes it very difficult to get re-instated. There's no customer service hotline for LinkedIn. Your best bet is to contact LinkedIn via twitter (@LinkedinHelp). Or even better, don't do pods!
CONTACT ANDY: @andyfoote www.linkedinsights.com
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POSITIVE MIND
POSITIVE VIBES
POSITIVE LIFE
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CAREER TRANSITION
How Your Next Executive Role Finds You
With Rob Hays, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Lenovo by Gina Riley AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 26
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Have you worked for the same company for fifteen or twenty years and felt stuck or unable to advance into the next-level opportunity? How do you signal you are ready? How do you help others understand your capabilities and look past perceptions about your readiness to move into your next executive job? This edition of “How Your Next Executive Role Finds You” features the compelling career story of
CAREER TRANSITION
I realized I really wanted a seat at the table, add value, and to be part of the rationale where the decisions were being made.
Rob Hays, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Lenovo.
customers design computers with Intel's processors and motherboards.
Technically, Hays wasn’t “stuck” in his career. He spent over twenty years at Intel Corporation,
I loved working with customers and getting
advancing rapidly and finishing up as the Vice
outside the office and didn’t like the work in the lab
President of the Data Center Group and General
and tedious code testing. This realization led me to
Manager of strategic planning. He led the business
a product manager role which allowed me to focus
strategy and product roadmap for Intel's industry-
more on customers. I got to travel all over the
leading Xeon processor family and other silicon
world and work with some of the largest tech
products for servers, networking, and storage
companies.
infrastructure. After managing a few successful products and His experience spans strategic planning, product
launches, I had the opportunity to move into a
management, directing business growth initiatives
management role. That was actually a challenge -
and leading several acquisitions in the data center
to get a leader to trust me with that first manager
silicon industry. Hays also holds two U.S. Patents for
job.
inventions related to energy-efficient networking systems. That may not sound like an executive who
When I jumped into that role, it opened up a whole
is stuck, but it can happen to the best of us and at
new set of opportunities to build skills I didn’t have
any level.
before, such as leadership, people development, strategic planning and analyzing potential
Hays provides ideas about how to move into your
acquisitions. I got to build my executive
next ideal job based on his experience with career
connections inside the company which was key to
transitions inside of a large, global company where
the future of my career.
he had a long tenure and brings to life an eventual move to another global organization.
Would you give me an overview of your career history to set the stage for our conversation?
I eventually made it to Vice President at Intel. The last seven years there , I ran all the silicon roadmaps for the data center group, which included Xeon processors along with other server storage and networking components. After 20
Yes! I studied computer engineering at Georgia
years of service, I left two years ago to join Lenovo
Tech and landed my first job in California with Intel.
as the Chief Strategy Officer for the data center
I started as an application engineer, helping
group.
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CAREER TRANSITION
At the end of the day what it took was one of my former managers, who was also a mentor, busting that door down for me. You said making the first leap into management was a challenge. Could you tell us more about that? How did you make the leap? I’d been at Intel about 8 years as a lead individual contributor on my team. I was landing some of the best assignments and jobs. I really wanted to get a manager job to lead the team because I felt like I had a lot to offer. I wanted to amplify my abilities while growing my scope. I didn’t have the management experience box ticked and it took a long time for someone to give me that opportunity. At the end of the day, what it took was one of my former managers, who was also a mentor, busting that door down for me. They went to the hiring manager, who was the GM of the group, and said, ‘Hey, this guy has done everything you've asked him to do well. He's done it for many years. I know he doesn't have management experience, but why would you think he's not going to be successful at management if he's been successful at everything else?’ After checking this box, I’ve been able to go back and forth between management and non-management jobs. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 28
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It sounds like this person was your sponsor and able to speak up for you and your abilities when you were not in the room. When you are stuck it is important to have mentors and sponsors to help you out. Looking back, do you remember having specific career goals? At first, I don't think I had specific goals other than get a great job, get some experience and live somewhere I wanted to live. It was just about life experiences at that point as much as
CAREER TRANSITION
committed to stay in the role for a couple more years to maintain stability for the group. It was unusual for someone to be in the same job for seven years, but I thought it was best for the company and the new leader. I was having fun, but it kept me in the role longer than originally planned. Second, at the end of two years, I was ready for a change. I was noticing new GM opportunities pop up that I could do, but everyone was convincing me to stay where I was because I was adding immediate value and impact. It
anything.
became dissatisfying after a while and I
It didn't take long for me to learn what I
the company. So, I started to reach out
realized I’d have to start looking outside
liked and didn’t like.
to my broader network because I
One of the things I realized is I really
something new inside, maybe I could
wanted a seat at the table, to add value and to be part of the discussion where the decisions were being made.
It sounds like adding value became a driver for you. When have you have felt stuck in your career and what have you done to push through to the next level? Before I came over to Lenovo, I was feeling this way. I’d been in the same
thought if I was not going to find find something outside. Eventually I did.
This is a familiar story to me. I’ve been on the phone with a few executives lately who can’t quite break through to the next level. There is something keeping them in place. Maybe they are important where they are but they have a burning desire to grow and do something else.
exact role for seven years. It was an
I think that's where a sponsor and
executive role and I became quite
timing come in. If I had the right
proficient at what I was doing. Two
sponsor at the right time, it could have
things happened that made me feel
helped people realize that seven years
stuck in that position.
is a long time and there would have been value in me moving to something
First, I had learned a lot from the
else. If that had been the case, I think
senior-most leader at my company
things would have turned out
who I reported to for five years, but she
differently.
moved on just as we were starting to plan for my next leadership role. They
There are people I sponsor. I can see
brought in another leader and I
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they're so good at what they do their manager just doesn't want to let them go. And sometimes they need a little nudging.
Is there one mentor or sponsor who really stands out in your career who was instrumental in getting you from point A to point B?
What you are saying about courage really stands out to me. What advice do you have for people who are feeling stuck? What could allow them to gain courage? One, have some kind of vision for where you want to go. Take some time and understand what
Ironically, the general manager of the division I’d worked for who gave me a hard time about getting that first manager role was the one who ended being the person who opened up many opportunities and assignments over the years. He became my biggest sponsor. He gave me mentorship, courage, and the skills to go find the next opportunity and he was my eyes, ears, and voice in helping me land those jobs when the time came.
interests you and what opportunities you might be a good fit for. Don’t home in on just one thing. Keep multiple options open and try to open the aperture of your vision to see where you could go. Two, have conversations with people who are either already there, or could influence your path to get there. Ask them questions of what it takes. What does the hiring manager or the executive team making the decision consider?
CAREER TRANSITION
He gave me mentorship, courage, and the skills to go find the next opportunity and he was my eyes, ears, and voice in helping me landing those jobs, when the time came. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 30
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Who gets into those roles? What are they looking for? Have you asked them? What would make you the obvious candidate? If you understand this and you have the desire, follow through and do your best to acquire the capabilities to go do it. You get much closer to where you want to go versus sitting back and pontificating about it.
CAREER TRANSITION
I can't overemphasize how much networking and the people you know applies here. This is how the person and the job find each other. In my experience as a hiring manager, I would say the vast majority of people I've hired for
One of the other people I interviewed for this series, Jennifer Davis,
positions were not people I
said something similar. It is like opening your aperture lens up wider
initially knew. Nor did they
and wider. I love how these stories have so much consistency to
come from someone randomly
them!
applying for the job through a website or recruiter. Most of
This series is about helping jobseekers crack the code to what is
them came in through a
known as the “hidden market” and networking strategies people use
personal referral from
to uncover opportunities that are just percolating. There may not
someone I knew and trusted.
have been time for it to have been posted on a job board or company page. When it came down to your transition to Lenovo, it
I think personal networks are
wasn’t about a recruiter finding you or you applying through a job
really important because you
board. How did you take control of your destiny and make the
never know when you’ll need
transition?
to apply for a job. I would be thinking about what you do on
When you talk about the hidden job market, I think about supply and
a daily basis to strengthen your
demand. The job postings are the demand and the people are the
network. Do you have good
supply. There's probably a larger hidden job market on the supply side
relationships with people? Do
than the demand side.
you keep your relationships warm? When you've worked
I agree some jobs never get posted because people decide there's
with people, have you
some need and they go pick someone to go do it. They just make it
demonstrated your skills and
happen. I do think there are a lot of job postings and openings that are
your experience in a way that
public.
created successful outcomes? AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 31
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FOCUS ON THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION
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It's important to occasionally share
important. These are people who
interview. They self-de-select. I
your desires or your curiosity about
might be in a position to help you
think there's people that don't go
your career. When I was in a junior
find jobs. You need to know that
after things they should go after
role, one of my mentors, a very
audience. When you have a
because they feel like they're not
senior technical fellow at Intel,
chance to communicate with
going to be chosen. So, they don't
encouraged me to be curious and
them, whether that's a
put in the effort.
ask questions when I was in the
presentation, recommendation,
room with senior technical leaders
educating them on something, or
Just think about where you want
to learn from them. It turned out to
whatever that is - really thinking
to go, what you want to do, and
be such wonderful advice because
from their point of view. What is it
what skills you need. I think that's
one person in particular went on to
that they want to get out of this
where the real effort needs to
be an executive at three other
interaction? Cater to that.
come in. Whether it's through
major tech companies that I’ve been business partners with.
interviewing or just career Can you help them see you are
planning, all this needs to happen
ready to move on to other
well before you get into the
I've kept in touch and it has
positions? Can you empathize and
interview.
opened doors for me and my
understand other points of view,
company because I was a curious
and then cater your subject matter
I think creating as many
person who expressed interest.
expertise and comments towards
reasonable options for yourself is
Take advantage of the
those needs?
the best thing to do. When you
opportunities you have when you interact with people of influence.
How do you recommend people showcase their unique value proposition? How does a person network without feeling like they are asking for a job? You’ve talked about relationship building, being curious, and having a learner’s mentality. How do you create a pull strategy rather than pushing yourself onto people? It’s the daily work and the daily interactions that are most important because that's really where you build trust and credibility with people. This is especially true when they get to observe your skills directly. Managing up or interacting with more senior people who might be future job role decision-makers is
think about your career and where Another thing is to just keep your
you want to go, think about what
relationships warm. Maybe not all
motivates you. Where are your
thousand relationships you have,
interests? What are you good at
but you know, 20 or 30, at least. It's
today? What do you need to be
people that are in places where
good at?
you think you might want to be at some point in time.
Don’t just think about one option – like only aspiring for your boss’ job
You never know - they could be
- because your boss might not
your customer someday. You could
move on or retire anytime soon.
work for them someday. They
Even if they do retire you may not
could open up a door for you
be the one to get the job. You
someday. You just never know.
should create other options that
And if you let those relationships
are adjacent to where you are.
atrophy, then you miss out on opportunities you didn't even
Think about the other functions
know about.
you interact with that you could do? Create multiple options.
You’ve seen people do really well in interviews and seen people
Then, go talk to those leaders
make mistakes. What are some of
about what it takes to succeed
the biggest mistakes you see
there and start to build credibility.
aspiring leaders make?
Again, the goal is to be the obvious candidate for multiple options. I
I think the biggest mistake people
mean, that's the best case
make is before they ever get to the
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CAREER TRANSITION
Like I mentioned, many people de-
is because we have a thousand
select. I talk to people all the time
people who know that domain and
who stay in their swim lane and
nobody that knows these other
keep working and hoping
things that you would bring to the
something will happen. I don't
table.’
think this is the most efficient way to operate. Don't just assume you're not capable of something. If it's interesting and you think you could do it, go find out what it takes to succeed and work towards it. It is all about creating options for yourself so the next phase of your career opens up doors and opportunities. Do well where you are and keep an eye on the landscape. Kindle relationships and show intellectual curiosity about where those paths could lead you. Yes! I have an example for you. I had a mentor who's very close to me ask me in a formal career conversation about the idea of a job I had not thought of doing before. I said, ‘Well, I would never get that job.’ He challenged me on it and asked me ‘why not’. I said, ‘ Because I'm not the expert in that domain and there's a thousand experts around here in
Don't assume because you're not best in one area that would be the reason that someone would select you or not select you for the role.
Lo and behold, I got that job two years later. It just happened to be it was the next job I ended up taking because my eyes were opened and I was encouraged by my mentor I could do that job. I did have valuable contributions to make. So, don't assume because you're not best in one area that would be the reason that someone would select you or not select you for the role. By the way, 12 years later, the person who gave me the advice to go after that role, working for someone else, is now my boss at Lenovo. Relationships come back around in unexpected ways. So, the minimum qualification is what the thousand people had and your unique value proposition was what made you stand out for the job? Yes, exactly. As a leader of strategy, what does adaptability look like for you and your organization? How are you pivoting as a leader in the wake of the pandemic? How are you
that domain. I would be the
tailoring and customizing where
bottom of the list. I would never
you sit as a leader today?
get that job.’ That's a really good question. This He said, ‘The reason you would be
has been a quadruple whammy,
at the top of the list to get that job
right? AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 34
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CAREER TRANSITION
We’ve had the pandemic, quarantine, recession, and racial tensions you can’t just check at the door when you come to work. It has also been a very politically charged environment during the election last year. That's a lot for employees to take in and work through and still perform. When we look from an IT and collaboration perspective, we are running our meetings on Zoom now, right? This really helps and it isn’t something we would have been doing so pervasively prior to the pandemic. We can also check in with customers frequently. We can check in with employees frequently. It's actually easier than just walking down the hall. One of the things my eyes have been opened up to is all of these external factors. Kids schooling at home and black lives matter and all these kinds of things are coming into the workplace because we are at home and these things are happening around us and they do affect us all, emotionally. We can’t just try to minimize those things and shut them out and expect people to just perform and focus on business and not worry about that stuff. One of the challenges we face is opening up dialogue with employees and invite the conversation around how people are thinking and feeling. Are we asking what we could do as an organization to do better for our company and do better for our communities? I’ve participated in conversations in the last few months at work I've never seen before and they're real. I think it's really important that you foster an open, safe environment like this. When you ask about adaptability, it makes me think about how we are behaving and how we treat each other. What are we talking about? We can’t just leave all that stuff outside of work. Don't talk about religion. Don't talk about race. Don't talk about finances. Don't talk about anything else. Just talk about work. Everything's fine. We're all the same. It's all about equality. That's not reality, right?
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CAREER TRANSITION
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE And it's one thing to have a diverse workplace, but it's another thing to have an inclusive workplace where all employees can thrive. And if you're asking everybody to leave all that experience outside the workplace, you're not harnessing it. So, to me, a big adaptation is how do we invite all of this craziness in the world back in and then talk about it and then turn that around into action to make the company and the community better. What are the top takeaways you have for people who are in leadership level positions looking to make their next career move? Network. Reach out to the people you know. Keep the relationships warm. Foster your options and
Network.
Reach out to the people you know. Keep the relationships warm. Foster your options and don't just get your sights set on one thing.
Gina Riley Consulting & creator of the CareerVelocity System™. She is a career transition coach who helps leaders customize their career stories to land jobs where they can leave a legacy. She is an Executive Search Consultant for Talence Group.
don't just get your sights set on one thing. Understand what's available out there and try to really understand what it takes to succeed. Don’t assume you're not a good candidate for a role, right? Keep those options open and work towards them. Don't self-de-select and just assume you won't get there, because if you do that, you won't get there.
CONTACT GINA: ginarileyconsulting.com
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MINDFULNESS
5
Extraordinary Leadership Qualities
by Falguni Katira AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 37
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MINDFULNESS
Leadership is the act of taking full responsibility of one’s
Our experiences often define our attitudes and being
actions as well as inactions. That responsibility then
self-aware means you realize and understand these
extends out to the way others think, behave and feel in
things, giving you the ability to move beyond them.
your presence. And with that, expectations follow. Many
Leaders practice self-awareness daily and are very
times, leaders are looked upon as unearthly, God like
conscious about how they view themselves and how
creatures that can never err.
they connect with the world.
“Leaders are not one in
Action Oriented Growth Mindset - This buzz phrase is
a million, extraordinary
growth mindset can also be applied to the way you view
leadership is.” Leaders are definitely humans, but they possess high emotional intelligence and extraordinary mental and emotional capabilities that make them unique and heroic. Their heroism comes from their inner self work that allows them to understand life from a high vantage point as well as at the very personal micro level. This combination of macro vision and micro perspective, makes them unique.
“Leaders are the ones that jump first and eat last!”
often used in the context of innovation in business but a personal development. Claiming someone has a growth mindset means they aren't satisfied with the status quo. For example, someone with a growth mindset will be focused on becoming a better person and increasing their knowledge personally and professionally. Leaders exemplify a growth mindset and are generally more willing to change than someone who does not embrace growth. And that is because they know they have to act first and others will follow. Leaders are role models that their team looks up to. Practical Empathy - Empathy is one of the most
celebrated soft skills these days, but it is very rarely understood and lived by many. To be empathetic means that you're able to understand the opinions and biases of others as well as how their own history or position may influence their thoughts and reactions. Extraordinary leaders know that they need to rise above
World class leaders possess these 5 extraordinary
merely understanding the opinions and biases of others.
qualities:
They need to go beyond and provide a solution to the problem rather than becoming part of the problem
Absolute Fearlessness – Some people really are not
themselves. They jump into solution mode by
scared of anything. Understanding why reveals the way
empathetically yet very practically involving themselves
the rest of us process terror. Leaders are fearless as their
into the problem and immediately jumping on to
self-confidence overpowers all fears and anxiety. This
solution mode.
confidence is a result of the experiences they have gained through meeting various peoples from all walks
Accurate Observation - With much of communication
of life, education that has afforded them a broader view
being non-verbal, being able to read body language is a
of the world and expertise that they have worked hard
very important skill to master. A person conveys
towards honing in on.
emotions in the way they stand, whether they make eye contact or not and even the angle of their head.
Radical Self-Awareness – Leaders understand the
Extraordinary leaders are experts at understanding the
biases and challenges they have in their own life.
secrets behind decoding body language and apply
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those skills in their day to day communication with their colleagues, team mates and seniors.
MINDFULNESS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
They accurately observe who is receptive to their message and who needs a little more convincing. This skill is rare but helps save a lot of time and energy once mastered. In closing, ordinary people can become extraordinary leaders if they start doing the necessary inner work first and gain fully visibility of their own selves. They can then work upon improving how they connect with others and
Find more leadership and transformation stories and inspiration from my latest book, Blossom Into Your Unique Self: The Power of Creating Holistic Wealth available on Amazon.
Falguni Katira is a professional transformation coach that helps leaders change their habits and thought patterns barring them from their path to holistic success. Clients who participate in her coaching program are positioned to adapt to change and maintain their competitive edge in all the dimensions of life, including spiritual, intellectual, career, finance, love/ relationship, family, social, and health / fitness.
CONTACT FALGUNI: www.falgunikatira.com @falgunikatira @falguni_aastha @aasthabhagia
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S T A R S C A N ' T S H I N E W I T H O U T D A R K N E S S AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 40
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GROWING, SCALING, AND IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS
NUMBER ONE PROBLEM WITH SMBS by John Knotts
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Would you like to know what the number one problem is in most small and medium businesses? Answer: They lack a true c-suite! A c-suite is much more than a bunch of highpaid executives with fancy titles that start with the word “chief.” These are highly sought-after business experts that have in-depth knowledge, skills, and abilities in their line of work. As a client recently told me, she expects a chief operating officer to have gray hair.
GROWING, SCALING, AND IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS
The answer is simple. They can’t afford to employ a c-suite. C-suite executives – good ones – are very expensive and desire a lot of benefits and perks that the business just can’t afford. For instance, a chief operating officer’s salary starts at about $250K USD and can climb past $1M USD with bonuses! That doesn’t even include business ownership, special benefit plans, different recruiting and hiring approaches, their own office and assistant, and the list goes on and on.
C-suite positions typically are found in operations (COO), marketing (CMO), sales (CSO), finance (CFO), and information and technology (CIO). However, there are many different c-suite positions in business today.
But, if not having a c-suite is the number one problem small and medium businesses face, and they can’t afford a c-suite, what do they do?
A c-suite position is a senior executive leader over their line of work. They normally have over 15 years of experience, have worked with several companies, have managed and led large teams, and often have a strong educational background.
There are many business professionals in the world that have moved past being a full-time employee with companies. However, they still might want to work with businesses on a limited basis.
Enter the concept of fractional c-suite support.
So, why is this such a big problem in small and medium businesses?
This is what a fractional role means. They come into your company as a high-level contract executive, but only work for a limited number of hours every week or month.
Most owners, presidents, and chief executive officers (CEO) of companies don’t know all the ins and outs of all the aspects of running a business. Typically, the entrepreneur that starts a business is really good at what the company delivers but doesn’t have a lot of experience in other areas of running a business.
As a fractional chief operating officer, I’ve worked with clients as little as 10 hours a month to his much is 30 hours a week. Some fractional positions even work full time, but as a contracted employee.
All businesses benefit from a strong executive leadership team – a c-suite.
There are many benefits to hiring these c-suite people for a contracted strategic engagement. First, although expensive, they typically cost less
So why don’t these businesses have c-suites if they are so important? Great question!
than a full-time salaried c-suite employee. Plus, you don’t have to invest in all the benefits and perks that a full-time person would require.
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Thus, you can get a great deal of expertise at a fraction of the cost.
GROWING, SCALING, AND IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
Second, as a contracted employee, their role is to come into your company and quickly stand up a function that reflects their expertise. In the case of marketing, as an example, they might build a marketing strategy, create a marketing funnel and processes, develop key marketing channels, and then hire a marketing director to run what was stood up. The fractional chief marketing officer might then transition to a coaching role for the new director. Last, since the fractional role is contracted, if they are not working out they are very easy to let go and replace. When you have a full-time csuite executive, getting rid of them can be very challenging and expensive. Think about your business today. Imagine if you had a suite of part-time experts to cover the key areas of your business, such as operations, finance, technology, marketing, and sales.
As a personal and professional business coach and consultant, John Knotts has been growing, scaling, and improving businesses for over 25 years. John portrays himself as a Success Incubator with his company Crosscutter Enterprises. His deep thought leadership on #business and #success can be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and his website, www.crossctr.com.
Consider how quickly your business might grow, scale, and improve with this type of expert support. In no time, you would be replacing your part-time fractionals with full-time c-suite members.
CONTACT JOHN: @successincubator
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HINK SPEA
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before you
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE OF DOUBT, AND CATCH A MILLION DOLLAR ‘WHALE’ by Louise Taylor AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 45
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Tilikum, also known as Blackfish, was an Orca whale, held in captivity for more than 30 years. You may know the story of how Tilikum savagely killed his trainer. Whales are meant to swim in the deep open ocean. They are not designed to stay in an area the size of what would feel like a bathtub. After being moved from pod to pod, and having been ‘raked’ by the teeth by the other whales in captivity, it has been told that Orca finally became aggressive and frustrated. Let’s face it - humans can feel the same. Financially trapped. Contained in a community, job or business that is too small for their dreams. Feeling ‘raked’ or scarred through financial loss. Worn out from working too hard. I know what it’s like to go through the pain of being in the wrong ‘pod’, wrong job, wrong business, or just being around people who didn’t get me, who didn’t know how to bring out my potential into reality of great commercial results. I know the pain of sudden and unexpected financial loss and trauma, which continued like a roller coaster over many years. I knew the pain of growing up with not enough, feeling embarrassed to not have the money for nice clothes. The anxiety and stress I saw my parents go through. I absorbed my parents’ rules about money – ‘work too hard, but still not enough’. The one thing that caused me to push through, to rise above and finally experience exponential
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financial breakthrough was a deep knowing that I was meant for financial freedom, and I was called to help others to do the same.
I believe every human being has a seed within us for greatness. A hunger for freedom. A drive to grow, to produce. I love the metaphor of whales in business. Billionaires are commonly known as financial ‘whales’. I’d much prefer a Whale Tank than a Shark Tank any day. I work with ‘eagles’, high performers, influencers, with spiritual and commercial gifts, who have huge capacity to give and serve others. I believe it’s time for the eagles to recognise their capacity to ‘catch’ 6,7 and 8 figure whales’. Here’s a few Kingdom success keys I have learned in helping people to birth millions: KINGDOM KEY #1 CREATIVE POWER
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
In creating millions, we must first seed the promise of millions within our own mind and heart, water that seed, allow it to incubate, germinate and grow - until it manifests externally. KINGDOM KEY #2 Set your heart and mind on intention to the next million. Whales set their heart on migration. I teach my clients how to set their full intention and focus towards a financial goal. During the migration, as you do the possible, you must tap into the deeper place of peace, and fight for peace and calm–to stay in a place of flow. This is the secret to bringing exponential wealth. KINGDOM KEY #3 DON’T GO ALONE - INVEST IN YOURSELF GET IN THE SLIPSTREAM OF SOMEONE ELSE’S BREAKTHROUGH If you go alone, you’ll go slow and painfully, you’ll waste time and money. Killer whales, who travel in groups called pods, help each other with the birthing process. An aunt or sister will help the new mom nudge her baby to the surface for its first breath. The calf will come into the slipstream of the mother whale, as the huge mother whale breaks the water ahead.
We have a creative power which can invent, engineer and design what is not yet seen, but is possible.
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V E
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I feel like ‘midwife’ to help people to birth a 6,7 or 8 figure business. The first time I invested $25k into a coach was the first time I experienced multiplication in my sales. You can’t afford to be cheap with investing in yourself and what you need to get there. KINGDOM KEY #4 - LISTEN TO THE STILL VOICE INSIDE During 2020, I felt a still soft voice say to me. ‘Go catch a whale. What’s a whale I asked? “6 figures in 6 weeks do it all online” - the voice came back to me. And so it began, the new 6 in 6 whale flipping season was on. KINGDOM KEY #5 - CULTIVATE YOUR UNIQUE, SECRET HIGH VALUE OFFER One of my clients just received a $46,000 pay-rise, and also made 63% in additional profit in her side gig. We taught her how to use her specific and unique skills, and articulate this in a unique way. Her confidence grew, and the flow started to happen. First truly understand and cultivate what you carry within you and its value - then learn how to communicate it in a unique way this will translate into a million+ dollar business. KINGDOM KEY #7 IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, NO ONE ELSE WILL EITHER. Come out of hiding. Your millions are hidden within you. Come out of ‘agreement’ with doubt and fear.
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It’s the hidden and known subconscious beliefs about your identity, fear of criticism which which hold you back.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
When you are moving towards something new - your subconscious brain is wired to stop you because it doesn’t know what's ahead. Choose courage. Engage in the excitement of the adventure. KINGDOM KEY #8 – Learn how to sell and market in a feel good, natural way – and get in the millionaire flow. Most people have blind spots, and focus on their skill or product, but avoid the areas where they need to develop muscles. Sales, money, executing the vision. Most people don’t know how to get into their financial river, as we are not taught this. Its not about the law of attraction or affirmations – it’s about identity, instinct, skillsets, developing an entrepreneurial mindset, and your ability to know and love yourself to a million dollars. Sales is not only practical, but spiritual and emotional – learn to integrate all these factors, and you’ll get in the slipstream of the million dollar club. Are you a frustrated high performer? To turn your spiritual and commercial gifts into millions, contact Louise or opt in for a free money beliefs survey, or clarity call at www.louisetaylorglobal.com Dream Drivers™ Program is a spiritual, practical and commercial entrepreneurship program for frustrated experts, creatives, leaders and influencers.
Louise Taylor is a globally respected Speaker, Peak Performance Coach and Neurostrategist and Creator of Neuroflow™ system, Money Mindfit™, Sales Mindfit™ and Clarity Programs. Louise specialises in helping individuals and companies to develop a positive money mindset, emotional agility - and approach leadership & business challenges with innovative commercial and people strategies.
CONTACT LOUISE: www.louisetaylorglobal.com
@louisetaylorglobal
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COPYWRITING
COPY TRIGGERS, PART 8: TRUST ME! BY: LEE ROWLEY
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Look at us - we’ve finally come to the end of the “Copy Triggers” series. Today, we’ll be exploring the final of the seven psychological triggers described in Sally Hogshead’s “Fascinate.”
COPYWRITING
First, an obvious one: Testimonial snippets. Despite the allure of video testimonials, watch rates on these videos are abysmally low - which means prospects aren’t getting the trust reinforcement they need.
If this is your first issue of Authoritti5.0, go back through the archives - for the past seven issues, I’ve been explaining how each of these triggers can help you persuade more effectively through your marketing copy.
I still use video testimonials, because they’re expected. But I also like to sprinkle snippets from those testimonials throughout the copy to make sure the praise is hitting home.
The final trigger - trust - isn’t the most exciting of the bunch. It lacks the allure of the “mystique” trigger, and definitely doesn’t titillate quite like the “vice” and “lust” triggers do.
Next on the “fairly obvious” list: Credentials and accomplishments. Judicious editing is in order here people want this information “at a glance.”
But it’s critical to build trust if you want the people consuming your copy to comply with your call-to-action that is, to buy, schedule a demo, book a consultation, redeem a discount offer, whatever.
Only the most relevant credentials and accomplishments should make the cut. People probably aren’t interested in reading about the mud-pie making badge you got in kindergarten.
How can you tap into the “trust” trigger in your copy? Well, let’s start by stating that there IS such a thing as too much. If your copy makes you look overly eager to win their trust, red flags go up. You know what I mean. Think of the pushy salesperson who immediately acts like he’s your best friend, and he just adores you SO much that he’s going to fight to get you the deal of the century, and you’ll want to name your child/grandchild/pet water buffalo after him. Don’t bro me if you don’t know me, yo. Ok, with that out of the way, here are a few easy ways to establish trust in your copy:
Next up: Association stories. It’s not uncommon for business websites to display the logos of current and past clients, strategic partners, etc. And that can be highly persuasive. Adding a snippet of the story behind those relationships into your content and copy adds another level of credibility to that relationship. For example, I once wrote copy for a Dan Kennedy event - he’s considered the “grandfather of direct marketing” and is ubiquitous in the copywriting world. When I mention our exchange one morning at the event - which happened around 7:15 am and may have involved a Bloody Mary - that turns a “name drop” into a memorable story that builds credibility by association. AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 50
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Finally, let’s round this out with one of the most effective (but challenging) trust-builders of all - a glimpse in the “dark mirror.”
seem hopelessly impossible.”
It involves going beneath the surface and finding out more about the buyer’s world - inner and outer than your competitors do.
“But wait!” you say.
Finding out their “secrets,” so to speak.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
So there you go - go forth and build trust in your copy.
HOW do I find out what’s rolling around in the buyer’s head, so I can do that “dark mirror” trick you were talking about earlier?” Funny you should ask.
Then, you simply weave a bit of their own innermost thoughts into your copy. Here’s an example: “You wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but inside, you feel like all your friends are more attractive than you.”
Starting in the next issue of Authoritti5.0, I’ll explain my Avatar Immersion Method, which is precisely how I gather, synthesize, and articulate trust-building intel to weave into my clients’ copy. Sound good?
Now, whether you address the reader directly here depends on what you’re saying and to whom you’re saying it. In some situations, people might be offended by that sort of directness.
Then go soak up the rest of the wisdom here, and come back next time for the insights you need to connect and resonate with your tribe!
Copywriter, comic, curmudgeon that’s Lee Rowley. In a world of flaccid, lukewarm marketing, Lee crafts copy that connects, persuades, and endears… giving his clients the leverage to render their competition irrelevant. His signature livestream, Lee After Dark, underscores the depth and complexity of human nature that eludes copywriters and marketers today.
Defensive walls go up, openness to buying goes down. If that’s the case, shove it off on “most/many/some people.” “Most people have a down day occasionally. But for some, sadness can drag on for so long that “good days”
CONTACT LEE: @theleerowley
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SUCCESS USUALLY COMES TO THOSE WHO ARE TOO BUSY TO BE LOOKING FOR IT. HENRY DAVID THOREAU
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Clearing Healing Remembering By Maria Davis
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Do your stories stop you from manifesting? Can your stories create unconscious biases that stop you in your tracks? Let's explore the construct of self and the many layers and the stories under the surface. Do you sometimes feel that the “construct” of self is a manipulation? An imposition to our soul. We know what we know until we know something different. This is one of my favourite sayings!! What don’t I know? I become curious. What am I willing to know? Back to “construct” . . . Simply put a construct with rigid borders, does not work. Let me share what I mean A “construct of self” often shows up as a pull to should be, should have, should do???? Who says? I see it all the time in my clients. The struggle with misaligned information and strategies is real. There have been many “coins” exchanged to find out that a formula doesn’t work linearly. There must be scope for navigation, alignment and truth-seeking. When we join these dots the steps towards goals are more palatable. More delicious. Simple, practical and doable is my motto.
MANIFESTATION
If it’s too complex, it’s not for you or me. That’s my filter and I share this with my clients. Tapping into that intuitive, embodied knowing is the only way forward. And the easiest effortless way too. And it works. Yep! Give it try. Process: Once we break down the narratives imposed from the outside in - guess what happens?! The clients heal. Heal the inner child that may have decided long ago that they couldn’t ask for more than they’ve got right now. Heal the imposter syndrome that keeps hissing at them - you’re not good enough! Who do you think you are?!! Heal from abandonment wounds that no one will come and play. Client numbers go up as soon as you heal this one. Clearing ancestral lineage wounds whispering - don’t break the mould - it’s not safe!! Guess what happens when this one Heals - you find yourself in the expanded arena. More clients, more money, more confidence. Client numbers increase as soon as you heal these stories and so many more. The stories come packed in different guises. But trust me if your business is not where you want it to be, there is a hidden story, a societal narrative under the surface, trying to break free. The soul’s calling is stronger than any
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MANIFESTATION
CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE story. Your purpose-driven business is stronger than any story. Your spirit’s guidance is more courageous than any story. Don’t adopt other people’s stories. Create your own. Manifest to your hearts desires Heed your soul’s urgency It is gathering evidence to unleash possibilities. It is urging inspired action. If you are reading this, you are ready to break down those walls and manifest your soul’s purpose into wealth beyond your dreams. Let’s chat soon. Maria Heals provides a process for souldriven entrepreneurs to leave their legacy whilst filling their sacred wealth.
Maria Davis from Maria Heals, teaching leadership and personal development. Sharing practical magic to entrepreneurs so they share their gifts with a wider audience and make more money.
CONTACT MARIA: https://www.mariaheals.com https://www.linkedin.com/ in/mariadavis8
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SALES
SALES CALLS TIPS AND TECHNIQUES: What to Prepare Before a Sales Call
BY PAUL HIGGINS
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Tips and Techniques to Excel with Your Sales Calls The challenge of sales calls is constant. Dependent on the point in the sales funnel that you’re making the call, you want to move a lead through to conversion. In the Salespeople Perceptions and Top Performance Study, 41.2% of salespeople said the phone is their most effective sales tool. So, why do some salespeople explode their targets with their sales calls while others struggle to make a single sale?
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Sales Call Tip #3: Do your research Before you pick up the phone, it’s crucial that you know something about your lead. Here’s where great salespeople start to really excel. They do their research, and fill in as many of the gaps as possible on their CRM. You may start off with no more than a name and an email address of a lead, but you can use this to build up quite a picture. Check out your lead’s LinkedIn page and any professional profiles you can find by conducting a Google search. Look across social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and search on their personal or company websites.
These sales calls tips will help you develop your technique and join the 41% who excel at sales calls. Before you make a call, return to your CRM and review notes from previous calls. It’s a lot of work, Sales Call Tip #1: Visualize your success but you can reduce your workload by hiring a virtual sales team and setting specific goals and tasks for a virtual sales assistant. If you’ve ever watched a top athlete or golfer prepare for their next attempt, you’ll notice that they focus on their success. They see themselves Sales Call Tip #4: Script your call making a record jump, crossing the finish line first, or hitting a hole in one. They go through the motions A sales script is essential. It gives you a starting that lead to success before they start the race or point for your conversation, ensures that you don’t address the ball. miss any of the points that you must hit, and helps you stay in control of the conversation. You must develop the right mindset to be successful in sales. Before you pick up the phone, It’s also the sales technique that ensures your be positive in sales and visualize that you will process is standardized and consistent, no matter achieve your goal. who is making the call. You know that you’ll explore all the avenues you need to and collect all the key information that you require to take the lead to the Sales Call Tip #2: Customize your CRM next stage of the sales cycle. According to Lattice Engines, 42% of salespeople don’t feel that they have enough information before Remember, your sales script should help you build they make a call. The first step to correcting this is a fuller picture of the customer, their problems, and their needs. to use your CRM more effectively by customizing the fields you have in your CRM. This provides valuable information that will help you develop your One thing I should emphasize here is that, while you should become familiar with your sales script, you call positively. I speak about this in more detail in must come over naturally. It’s important that you my podcast ‘The nine custom fields you should have in your sales CRM’, but here’s a list of what is don’t sound robotic and as though you’re simply ticking off bullet points on a checklist. crucial information for anyone making sales calls: 1. Contact type 2. Relationship 3. Source 4. Referred by whom 5. How you met 6. Expert 7. List (where to send the contact for marketing) 8. Personal information (great for building rapport) 9. Circle (the lead/customer’s connections and network)
Sales Call Tip #5: Build Rapport 95% of a buying decision is emotional, formed in the subconscious. This means that you must appeal to your customer’s desires as well as their needs. It also means that you should be liked by the customer. Thus, building rapport is critical. Buyers buy from people they like.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE How do you build rapport? Listen to your customers to understand their needs, but pay attention to them as a person. Use small talk to discover more about the lead and establish common ground. (Did you know that, according to research by Gong, a salesperson who opens a conversation with “How are you?” is 3.4 times more likely to make a sale?) Other sales call techniques to use to build rapport include matching and mirroring communication patterns (but don’t mimic), being respectful, and hitting that common ground.
SALES Mentor | I Help 7 Figure Business Owners with Sales & Teams so they can BUILD LIVE & GIVE. Paul Higgins is a sales business mentor, podcaster, and author who helps service-based business owners get out of sales and client delivery to strike a balance between life and work.
Sales Call Tip #6: Develop resilience and persistence We’re back to positivity in sales. Every salesperson suffers setbacks, and it can be demoralizing when you set goals for your sales calls but don’t achieve them. Here’s the thing though. Statistics published by HubSpot show that: 60% of customers say no four times before they say yes 80% of sales require five follow-up calls Fewer than half of salespeople will make a single follow-up attempt 44% give up after one follow-up call I wonder what it is that the 41.2% of salespeople who say the phone is their most effective sales tool are doing that you’re not?
Set your sales system for success Before a sales call, there are three things you must prepare: 1. First, yourself – with a positive mindset and will-do attitude. 2. Second, your CRM – so that you have information at your fingertips. 3. Third, your sales script – so that you can build rapport, learn new information, and progress your customer through their sales journey. I’ve had a long and successful career in sales. First at Coca-Cola and then for the last nine or 10 years as a mentor to service-based business owners. I’ve packaged all my experience into the Accelerate Program designed to help you leverage your sales from my experience. If you are an ambitious, servicebased business owner who wants to build rapid revenue growth, apply for Accelerate today.
CONTACT PAUL: www.paulhigginsmentoring.com
@paulhigginsmentoring
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EMOTIONS
r u o y h c a e R y b n o i t a n i t s e d r u o y g n i t n o r f con s n o i t o em BY OMOZUA AMEZE ISIRAMEN
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Our emotions are a wonderful thing. We feel on top of the world, like we’re soaring across vast beautiful landscapes made specifically for us when we’re happy, but we can also feel like we’re trapped, locked in a dark exhausting pit when we’re angry or sad. Our emotions, good or bad, help us experience the world around us and are responsible for creating a wide range of memories. We'll often see a fluctuation in our emotions throughout the day depending on a variety of factors. Our brains are superb at identifying our surroundings and situations to provide us with an accurate response. These responses are based on our understanding of what a particular situation or encounter means to us. Responses are formed on core concepts our brain has. See, it's not possible for our brain to accurately interpret everything around them every moment of the day. Instead, it forms concepts - a collective combination of information. Your brain would have formed a concept the first time you had a team meeting, for example, which it then uses to determine an emotional response in the future. It's pretty fascinating! Yet, how does this knowledge of emotions help us further understand what we're feeling?
How we form concepts Emotions can seem complicated, difficult to understand and in some cases, frightening. They're the backbone of what makes us who
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we are, and our emotional reactions to experiences can often define our personalities. Particularly bad experiences may lead us to repress emotions associated with these memories as reliving those moments can be difficult. These repressed memories often find their way back into our lives through unconscious physical or verbal outbursts or uncharacteristic actions. When these occur, the person in question rarely understands why they did what they did. An inward look into our brain tells us that our brains react solely to what gives us the best chance of survival, regardless of our emotions. Worry and anxiety can loom over us like a roaring thunderstorm, thrashing our vessel without remorse, but these emotions are our brains' way of telling us we’re in danger. Whether it is an unknown concept that you should take with caution, or if you've had an awful experience in a similar situation before, your brain wants to keep you safe. Cortisol - your body's primary stress regulator hormone - is released to maintain stress, motivation and fear, which attributes to your fight-or-flight response and can subsequently impact your emotional response to the situation around you.
Repressed Vs Hidden Despite the brain taking a proactive approach to protecting us, it does not go out of its way to repress or hide our emotions from us. Doing so would cause us to shut down as we fail to perceive the world around us. What it does do is focus on them less.
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In essence, our brains don't hide our emotions, but they can remain hidden from you if you don't actively seek them out. Understanding our emotions isn't a simple one time, sit down task. We all experience life in different ways and handle our emotions differently. But understanding what they mean requires inward, deliberate thinking. Repressing emotions can certainly be a method for our brains to lockout trauma; however, these are regular emotions waiting to be understood for most of us. If your spouse, friend, partner or sibling is stressed and acting irrationally, wouldn't you ask what was wrong? Would you try to comfort them and understand their situation? If yes, are you doing the same with your brain? I have seen high-level executives tremble and drag themselves through the day with the belief that there are underlying issues within their life preventing them from achieving the goals they dream of. They cling to the idea that their emotions are shrouded in mystery, when in actuality they’re in plain sight waiting to be seen.
Building Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence can impact our lives in various ways, from understanding relationships and communicating better, maintaining a more positive outlook, and greatly influencing our responses. Even though building emotional intelligence takes time, the great part is that you can start right now, even while reading other articles in this magazine. It is far easier for us to shrug an emotion off when we experience it, including positive emotions. We don't give happiness a second
EMOTIONS
thought; we're told we should be grateful for it. But if I asked why you were happy, would you know? You might know when you were happy but do you know the exact cause and why that created the response it did? Similarly, an argument might be the cause of anger, but would you know, in-depth, why that response was created? And more importantly, why are you still holding on to it? The most significant benefit of emotional intelligence, in my opinion, is being able to understand why you felt the way you did AND be able to set that emotional response aside. Holding onto negative emotions often feels like there is an inescapable cloud over our eyes. The beauty of the world is drained away and all that remains is problem after problem. Our solution, our beam of sunlight bursting through the fog, is to acknowledge what we’re experiencing as fact, and ask if we need to continue feeling this emotion.
Why are you angry, and do you need to continue to feel that way? This train of thought is life-changing. Once practiced, an emotional response will no longer be an uncharacteristic outburst, an uncontrollable overtake as you feel
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CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE
helpless, an unjustified reaction, instead, you’ll be able to understand that the situation or experience is making you feel a certain way, and consciously direct your emotions correctly. As Daniel Goleman said:
"If you are tuned out of your own emotions, you will be poor at reading them in other people." Becoming a better communicator starts with the realisation that others are experiencing similar emotions to yourself. How you decide to communicate, the tonality you use and the vocabulary you settle on will ultimately determine their emotional response. Similarly, communicating with someone overtaken by emotion can sometimes feel like throwing a dart into a field and hoping you hit a bullseye. Regardless of your position in life, being unsure of how to communicate to someone is scary. Emotional intelligence allows you to understand these emotions, understand what the person is going through and make informed decisions on how to communicate with intent, considering their emotions in the process. Whether you spend 5 minutes writing down what you're feeling and confronting your emotions or meditate to bring them to the surface, identifying and analysing them daily will move you closer to being one with your emotions.
Omozua Isiramen is a High-Performance Brain & Neuro Agility Trainer and Certified Life & Executive Neuro-Leadership Coach. Founder of CWO Solutions - Executive Coaching with Omozua, Co-Founder of the Systemic Neuroscience Consulting Group Neuro-Link’s Regional Corporate Business Partner & Lead Master Trainer for NAP™ and High Achiever Emotional Intelligence™ and CoCreator of the 3-to-5 BrainSystem Code™ and Signature Impact Leadership Program. In her work as a Certified High-Performance Brain & Neuro Agility Trainer; Executive Intelligent Leadership and Neuroscience Coach, she uses emotional mastery and neuroscience-based approaches to empower & prepare clients’ hearts & heads to take the journey from where they are to where they want to be by bravely accessing and optimizing their limitless brain potential. Power Slogan: Be CEO of Brain
CONTACT OMOZUA: Email: takeaction@omozua.com Website: https://www.omozua.com/ linkedin.com/in/omozuaisiramen/ AUTHORITTI5.0 MAGAZINE | 63
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The
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TOOLBOX
TIPS FOR MAKING POWERFUL BRAND VIDEOS BY JAN SANTOS
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THINK ABOUT YOUR SELECT ON-BRAND OBJECTIVE ASSETS You need to determine what you want to achieve with your video. This’ll help you figure out what types of brand videos to create. Are you looking to spread awareness about yourself, your company, or a product? Try creating a share-worthy video that’s entertaining or inspirational or a compilation of interesting stats or facts about your industry.
THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE
Once you know what type of video you’d like to create, and what audience you’ll be targeting, it’s time to gather everything you need to create your video. You may have photos and video clips on hand, in which case they’re probably already on-brand. But if you’ll be sourcing your assets from a stock provider, you’ll want to be sure to select photos and video clips that match your brand aesthetic. If you wouldn’t use an image on your website, don’t use it in your video.
Not every video will resonate with every audience, so understanding the people you’re trying to reach will help you create a video that piques their interest and keeps them watching.
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SPEAK IN YOUR BRAND VOICE
Remember, your videos are an extension of your brand identity, so be sure you adhere to the same voice and messaging as you would in your other marketing materials.
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USE YOUR BRAND COLOURS
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CONTRIBUTING WRITER'S PROFILE Jan Santos is a Branding Coach from the Philippines. He runs The Creative Talk Podcast on Apple/ITunes and Spotify and YouTube, supporting designers and entrepreneurs to stand-out and establish a market competitive edge. His goal is to solidify ones branding and identity, ensuring the business to be unique and memorable by means of creating a consistent visual style, goal and focus.
It’s a great opportunity to incorporate your brand colours. This can make it easy for viewers to recognize that the video is coming from you.
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If you don’t have text in your video and are shooting new photos for video clips, it can be fun to incorporate your brand colours within the frame.
ADD YOUR LOGO Don’t forget to include your logo! Including it in the corner as a watermark throughout your entire video, as opposed to just at the beginning or end, can help ensure brand recognition with every view, no matter where a viewer begins watching. This is a common practice on social media and can help tie your brand to your content in the news feed. Start Making Powerful Brand Videos Now!
CONTACT JAN: @thecreativescoopjansantos @thecreativescoopjansantos Jan Santos
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BUSINESS TOOLS
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PODCAST OF THE WEEK
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
NAME OF PODCAST: Thriving Thru Menopause By: Clarissa Kristjansson
The transition to menopause can be a time of reflection and inspiration. Although transitions of any kind can be inherently difficult, many
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menopause transition specialist Clarissa Kristjansson , as she interviews midlife women to hear their stories of struggle and success through midlife. As well experts from the field of mind-body medicine, nutrition and more about their best ways to support you live well through perimenopause and beyond. If you want to feel inspired, supported and empowered this is the podcast for you.
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