“Brand Luther: how an unheralded monk turned his small town into a centre of publishing, made himself the most famous man in Europe – and started the Protestant Reformation.”
~ Andrew Pettegree
It’s About Influence…
The book referred to in the quotation is quite fascinating. It talks about how nothing in Luther’s birth, background, or education could have predicted the transformative power he had, and how it was the strategic use of publishing that gave him that power and made him the first modern celebrity author.
It got me thinking about some of the authors I’ve worked with:
- Lisa, whose first book 10x-ed her business and provided the foundation for her subsequent books, training, and speaking opportunities;
- Peter, whose second book made him over $1 million in the first year through consulting and speaking;
- Chandell, whose first book brought her international speaking and consulting opportunities that would not have opened up without it;
- Max, whose business book took him from a highly respected expert in his field to a celebrated authority who has his waitlist capped at 100 opportunities for his $200k + expenses speaking gigs because he only takes 12 per year. His PA has a waitlist for his waitlist.
I could go on, but you get the idea… If you’re wondering whether a business book is worth the time, energy, and money it requires, the answer is emphatically, yes!
Why is a book so powerful… (and is it still useful if I don’t want to create wars and divisions)?
A well-written business book may not create the kind of furore that Martin Luther created with his publications, but it gives your prospect a chance to sit down with your ideas and realise that you understand his predicament.
You can also highlight distinctions that he may not be aware of between the options he is considering and help him explore the implications of his decision.
It’s a fantastic tool for removing objections based on price and turning the conversation to the value that extra cost might represent.
The simple fact that you took the time to put your ideas and principles into a consumable form provides a substantial measure of trust and confidence and frequently tips the scale in your favour so that you land the contract you were hoping for and can dictate the terms as well.
Even if you don’t want to start a war or turn the world upside down, I’m sure you want your business to thrive and to have the certainty of a hungry crowd of prospective buyers knocking on your door… and a book can help you do that.
The #1 Reason is…
That if you are a service business, or concentrate on speaking and training, and don’t yet have a book about your business, then I’m willing to guarantee that you are missing out on fantastic opportunities to create sales and serve other people. I’d also bet that many of your prospective clients are missing out on the chance to work with you because you haven’t had a chance to really speak to their needs and how you meet them.
It’s one thing to present a simple gadget with little back story and information, but most services are too complex to communicate more than the obvious in your average sales discussion. This leaves it up to the buyer to determine the difference between your offering, and the cheaper one up the road, and that is frequently a recipe for disaster: they may get an unsatisfactory experience, you lose a sale!
Are all Books Created Equal…
You already know the answer to that question.
No, they’re not!
Please don’t rely on the recipient of your book saying, “Oh, a book about X! Let me hire the author;” without reading a word you’ve written.
On Friday, I heard a great response that confirms this: “I picked up 2 books on topic X and found 2 people I’m never going to contact because their books show how stupid they must think I am. They didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know, and they were all sales pitch, plus, they were clearly a transcript of some talk they’d given.”
Write a book that respects your reader and that genuinely tells them what they need to know to make a thoughtful decision. Your best prospects won’t be put off if you tell them ‘how’ to do things and decide they no longer need your help, they’ll simply come to the sales conversation better informed and closer to a positive decision.
If it Sounds too Good to be True…
… it probably is!
This means that if you’ve been thinking for months or years about writing your book, you probably won’t get it finished in 48 hours… or not past the first draft.
If someone offers to write, edit, and complete your book layout for $3,000 then you will almost certainly end up with a piece of junk that won’t build your business.
If you feel that you simply can’t write your own book, then by all means hire a ghostwriter to do it for you… and if you have written your own book then hire an editor to check it before you get it laid out and published as a minimum.
If you need help writing your book…
Then ask yourself how much easier you think it would be to sell your services if you had a book… how much revenue you could generate, and how much extra time and energy you would save if you didn’t have to work out:
- How to structure your book
- What stories to tell
- What information to include and exclude
- How to find an editor
- Who to ask for illustrations and layout…
… as well as how to get your book printed, uploaded to Amazon, and marketed.
I probably only accept about 1 in 4 of the book projects I’m offered, and I do have projects scheduled out will in advance so if you need your book written yesterday, I may not be able to help you myself, but I can put you in touch with some other candidates and, who knows… we may be the perfect fit for each other.
If you’d like to talk to me about ghostwriting a book, please schedule a call using this link: http://www.scheduleyou.in/aPy7Kmkuez.
