Turning your message into a movement
Many experts are in a Catch-22 -- they have a great message, but once heard, the marketplace moves on. What's the difference between a good message that doesn't "stick" and a concept that will launch an empire, an ongoing "movement" where buyers return again and again for your latest thinking? Use the below two benchmarks to take a long, hard look at your content. And proceed accordingly...
Addressing conventional wisdom
What do Elvis Presley, Oprah and Saturday Night Live all have in common? All three disputed conventional wisdom by offering the marketplace an alternative. In the age of the clean-cut Beatles, Elvis came on the scene with swiveling hips. Oprah was the girl next door to hard-hitting Phil Donahue. Saturday Night Live was an irreverent alternative to televised rock concerts and old movies. This dynamic works in all markets, including a best-selling book and big-fee speaking calendars.
Too many experts create a message around what the marketplace knows but doesn't do. (Example: Losing weight by eating less.) This might make for a good message, but won't build a platform for multiple revenue streams. Why? Because the marketplace already knows to eat less -- they just don't want to. This message, while true, doesn't shift our mindset. And it's that shift, that departure, which launches gurus.
So ask yourself: What alternative am I providing the marketplace? Is my alternative different enough to provide a shift, yet credible enough to withstand scrutiny?
Specific point of view, multiple applications
Ever heard of a "one-hit wonder"? That's an expert whose message is so limited that it can't build a platform for other related messages. So the marketplace puts that expert into a very little box and won't consider them for anything but that narrow construct. This stunts the leverage that every movement needs to grow. Many experts make matters worse by jumping around from limited message to limited message. Result: constant reinvention without stable growth.
Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki has built a HUGE empire from his ideas on financial matters. How? By developing an overall "manifesto" that is unique enough to shift thinking and broad enough to hold multiple "sub-messages" (such as real estate, tax planning, etc.) that can bring the marketplace back for more.
So ask yourself: Does my message have "legs"? Can this point of view be applied to many outlets without saying the same thing?
What to these benchmarks have in common? They both create a platform to springboard all other activities -- speaking, writing books, product lines, services. Creating an alternative creates the spark that moves the wheel, and the broad applicability of the message keeps the wheel rolling. And both make the expert a guru in the marketplace.
Creating curiosity
What is the spark that ignites all movements? Curiosity. The media and the marketplace are constantly searching for the latest thinking, a fresh perspective that will raise the bar and improve conditions. Below are two ways your manifesto can be positioned to move the marketplace to learn more.
The problem
Politicians have done it for years: identify the issue, own the solution. Alas, too many experts skip this part and go right into solution. Why it doesn't work: because every solution needs a warm-up act to stimulate agreement, just like a comedian needs an audience who is already laughing. Experts who outline their version of the challenge create the curiosity and build buy-in for their views.
Key strategy: Look at how your most profitable buyers are describing a central issue and ask yourself: what are they missing? Where are the crossroads and why was the wrong route chosen? Create distinctions around that, and you'll signal to the marketplace that you are a strategic thinker with uncommon solutions.
The story and the inside scoop
The secret is out. Everyone wants to know the "inside scoop" that only the "cool kids" know. (This is the dynamic that Kiyosaki used in his "what the super rich know that we don't" manifesto.) There is always curiosity around scarcity...we naturally want what we don't have, especially if we think the "secret" will help us.
Key strategy: couch your points in comparisons. How does the "inside scoop" differ from what everyone else knows and why is that important? What is conventional wisdom and how do your views differ?
Welcome to The Sullivan Report!
After seven years, our quarterly newsletter, Splash, is retiring. Never fear, we'll keep the archives up -- that information will still help you get more speaking engagements, book deals, and clients. Published quarterly, The Sullivan Report will retain the same format, but will expand the focus beyond public speaking to building the expertise-based empire. Watch for more insights on building value in many forms using your expertise. And yes, we'll still cover public speaking...
Our new web site!
Revamping a web site is a lot like remodeling your house. It's a messy process but turns out beautiful in the end. The new site is easier to navigate and more accurately describes the results. It's been a collaborative process, full of ups and downs. Many thanks Keoki Williams of Keoki Design for the great look and feel, Jeanette Cates of Tech Tamers, and Vicky Likens who made sure the trains ran on time -- believe me, some days it was a challenge!
It's HOT, HOT, HOT!!
In Phoenix, Arizona, that is, where the national convention for NSA (National Speaker Association) will be held. I'll be conducting a Meet The Pros session, so sign up if you haven't already. Or, if you miss that session, stop me in the hallways. I'm always open to sharing the latest market intelligence at these events.
In your speeches and Springboard Marketing, you talk about content and application. What's the difference between the two?
Content is the body of your manifesto -- the major points that you make not only in the cornerstones of your solution but also in the premise of reframing of the issue. The application is WHERE that information is directed. A great example: Jim Collins, author of From Good to Great, could've researched any issue relative to performance. He chose to apply his views on performance toward well-performing companies who made the leap to "great" companies. By focusing his research in that area, Collins narrowed his content but not his brand.
How to figure out the application? First, you have to know where your most profitable market is. Then, look at their highest-value issue, and create your manifesto from there...
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"When you want the latest thinking and you want it short, sweet, and now...this is the place! Vickie Sullivan is a thinker!"
T. Scott Gross
Author, Positively Outrageous Service, Borrowed Dreams, and MicroBranding |
