Podcasts about thought leaders business school

In this episode, Kate and Sam tackle a topic that many business owners struggle with: whether or not to “niche down”. Many business coaches advise people to find a niche, which means targeting a specific segment of the market with a specialist service. There are many advantages to doing this, however it can also be constraining and high-risk. Kate and Sam discuss the liberating approach developed by Matt Church at the Thought Leaders Business School which challenges the conventional wisdom of niching. This approach has been a game changer for both Sam and Kate. Tune in as they discuss this alternative path to success, one that prioritises problem-solving over niche identification, creating flexibility, innovation, fulfilment and more!Key Highlights:Unveiling the Thought Leaders ‘Cluster' Approach as a Liberating Alternative to Niching: Discover how to move away from the niche model to solve specific problems for target markets through diverse delivery methods, embracing flexibility, adaptability, resilience and innovation.Embracing Failure as a Stepping Stone: Understand the significance of embracing failure, with a 50 percent failure rate expected when launching new clusters (or any program / service / product for that matter!).Navigating Imposter Syndrome and Originality: Kate and Sam dispel the myth of needing entirely original ideas to be recognised as a thought leader. Learn how to develop and package ideas uniquely, utilising tools like Thought Leaders' pink sheets to systemize intellectual property.Encouragement for Entrepreneurs: The hosts discuss how to empower yourself to explore your authentic self and embrace your unique perspective and navigate the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship with confidence and clarity.To learn more about the Thought Leaders Business School, go here: https://thoughtleaders.com.au/ Join Kate and Sam as they encourage listeners to embark on a journey of self-discovery and innovation, paving the way for success in today's competitive business landscape. Tune in to the Thriving Business Podcast for a wealth of insights and strategies to unlock business freedom and thrive in an ever-changing world. Connect with the Women Doing Business Hosts:Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired BusinessWebsite: https://katedejong.com/Instagram: katedejong.inspiredbusinessEmail: kate@katedejong.comSam Morris | The Business ImplementorWebsite: https://thebusinessimplementor.com/Instagram: sammorris.businesscoachEmail: sam@thebusinessimplementor.com

This the first episode of the current season of my podcast - Pushing Beyond the Obvious and I am super happy and excited to kick off the season with none other than Lisa O'Neill. She is a self described energy and human expert. In this wide ranging conversation about energy and leadership, she shared a lot of great insights on leadership. Here are some of my takeaways from the conversation: She shared insights about the importance of knowing ourselves. If we do not know what kind of a leader we want to be, how would our team know. In order for our teams to perform at their best, they need to know exactly what we expect from them. So the first thing that we need to do as a leader is to become aware of what exactly do we want, who exactly we are and how exactly should our team engage with us. She also shared the importance of letting our team know how we roll as a leader. That way they know how to get the best out of us. High performing teams don't just need team members performing at their peak but their leaders performing at their peak as well. And this aspect of leadership is not discussed or shared enough. She shares a 4 step model to help us get more self aware - Notice, Nourish, Navigate and Nurture. In all, she shares the importance of pondering, pondering about ourselves and what we want. She also challenged the leaders listening with these three quests: Spend a week only asking questions of your team. List down all the people in your team and rate them from whom you really like to the one you least like. Answer the question - why is this so? Write down three personal things you know about everyone on your team. If you can't up with them, take them off for a cup of coffee or tea and talk to them to get to know them. In conclusion, this season could not have started at a better note than this conversation. I have lined up a lot more conversations with both thought leaders and practicing leaders for the show and am excited about how things will go from here. I hope you ride along with me on this journey. PS: If you want to want Lisa as you listen to this conversation, you can do so below: https://youtu.be/Y6adjSNMUeI Resources that were mentioned in the episode: - Thought Leaders Business School - https://thoughtleaders.com.au - My post on the 25 Women - https://rmukeshgupta.com/celebrating-25-women-who-influenced-and-shaped-my-thinking-and-work/ - More info about Matt Church - https://www.mattchurch.com Books mentioned by Lisa: - 100 questions for self awareness by Lisa O'Neill - https://www.lisaoneill.co.nz/shop - Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh- https://amzn.to/3MiMuWd - You can Heal your life by Louisa Hay - https://amzn.to/3S92BcI - Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - https://amzn.to/45Hls1v - The Net and the Butterfly by Olivia Fox Cabane - https://amzn.to/45JGRaA You can find more information about Lisa and her work - https://www.lisaoneill.co.nz You can connect with her on LInkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaonz/ Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmukeshgupta My books: - Your startup Mentor: https://amzn.to/3FrBbHr - Thrive: https://amzn.to/493brhZ - Being Happy: https://amzn.to/3QsE4xO

In this enlightening Thriving Business Podcast episode, hosts Kate De Jong and Sam Morris engage in a deep conversation with Matt Church, the founder of the Thought Leaders Business School. With over 15 years of experience, Matt and his team empower experts to bill $500K-$1.5M annually, working just 50-200 days with minimal staff. They're on a mission to help clever individuals overcome self-sabotage and achieve commercial success. Tune in to discover more.Matt Church, the visionary founder of Thought Leaders Global, is a renowned authority in enhancing leadership in Thought Leadership, Speakership, and Motivational Leadership. An accomplished entrepreneur, bestselling author, and distinguished speaker, he's earned international recognition, including being among the top 25 influential figures in the global speaking profession. Matt's achievements include induction into the Australian Speaker Hall of Fame, the 2014 Australian Speaker of the Year title, and a spot among the Top 10 Motivational speakers worldwide according to E-speakers in 2015. He's also authored 11 impressive books to date.Key Highlights:Matt Church's journey: We delve into Matt's transformative journey as a thought leader, tracing his origins in the field.Exploring "The Green Book": Matt's seminal work The Green Book, otherwise known as “The Thought Leaders Practice: Do Work You Love, With People You Like, the Way You Want” is a book that he gives away for free to build his list and grow his client base organically. Matt discusses his strategy of disseminating valuable free content as a powerful way to grow your business.Traits of exceptional thought leaders: We discuss the qualities that define successful thought leaders. Matt dissects the three common obstacles that hinder individuals from realising their aspirations: a lack of clarity, the absence of a roadmap, and self-sabotage tendencies.Breaking through the Green Belt: Drawing inspiration from martial arts, Matt and his team created The Revenue Ladder that describes the different levels from White Belt ($120K per annum) through to Black Belt ($720K) and beyond. His team have helped dozens of thought leaders reach the $1.5M mark through smart commercialisation of their ideas.IP snapshot and codifying Ideas: Matt Church underscores the critical importance of efficiently capturing and codifying one's ideas. He introduces the concept of an IP snapshot, emphasizing the need to encapsulate insights without being bound to a specific mode.The evolution from expert to authority: We delve into the evolution from subject-matter expertise to the coveted status of authority within one's field - a ‘Thought Leader'.And so much more!For those aspiring to become a Thought Leaders Practice, click the link below to learn more. Stay Connected with Matt Church: Matt's Green Book : https://thoughtleaders.com.au/practice-book/Matt's website : http://mattchurch.comThought Leaders Business School: https://thoughtleaders.com.au/Connect with the Women Doing Business Hosts:Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business : https://katedejong.com/Instagram: katedejong.inspiredbusinessEmail: kate@katedejong.comSam Morris | The Business Implementor : https://thebusinessimplementor.com/Instagram:

In this episode we're joined by Kate Billing.  One of our favourite humans. Kate is a Speaker, Author, Thought Leader and Change Maker.  She is a Faculty Member of Thought Leaders Business School and Founder and Creative Director of Blacksmith.  As someone who is passionate about putting the tricky business of being fully human right at the centre of how we live, lead and work you can be sure this conversation is going to take you on one soul filled, kick ass, no pretence rollicking ride.  The messy ride that is being human.A melting pot of psychology, neuroscience, philosophy,  & sociology with a hefty dash of magic, vulnerability and humour is how we would describe it.We talk about choosing to own who we are, what we believe and how we show up in the world.  How prepared are we to be seen? Let alone being comfortable enough to fly our freak flags!We also explore how our most transformative experiences, usually involve the breaking down or burning up of something.  We cover so much ground as we sit around the campfire in this convo:  Not letting who you are get in the way of who you can becomeKate's breaking & burning defining momentsThe importance of light & shadow in our own experienceUnderstanding why we sufferBeing better humans & leadersEndless curiosity & fascination with the ourselves & those around usSynchronicity & IntuitionMagicTransition & agingLeadership being your ability to be visible in the world (not a title)Being explorers, & pathmakers (vs following old maps)Living our lives asleep at the wheelAnd so much more.We are so grateful for Kate's generosity of spirit & wisdom in this episode, we hope you walk away feeling just a little of what we did after sharing time with her.You can find Kate on Insta: @katebilling and at www.blacksmith.co.nz.Big love Jax & Kim xxOh and feel free to come follow along on Insta @unicornsandhandgrenades.life or www.unicornsandhandgrenades.com, let us know what you'd like more of and any feedback or ideas.

So what is Thought leadership' anyway? Lisa O'Neill explains. You might be a thought leader and not know it. In Episode 30, the last in this series, Lisa O'Neill opens the book on thought leadership as perceived through the Thought Leaders Business School, of which she is CEO. How would you ever know you are a thought leader? The tests. 1. Do you have a book in you? i.e. one about your particular expertise. 2. The best test is to ask whether your thoughts – your approach - comes from your own distinctive perspective. It won't be as an expert in Meyers Briggs assessments, Dale Carnegie Institute teaching, D.I.S.C. or any other field where the IP is prescribed by someone else. That would make you a thought follower. 3. Your field of expertise doesn't have to be unique though. There is nothing new under the Sun as the old sage wrote. There is room for many more thought leaders in your field. It's a big world. 4. Your expertise has to be in a field where people normally buy access. Money is proof that you;'re really good—you shift the energy of the people in a room—a measure of your releveance. The opportunities Thought leaders operate (according to Lisa) across six separate modes: Speaking Training Authoring Coaching Facilitating and Mentoring You'd need to be strong and capable in most of them, yet might elect not to practise in one mode very much. The process You need to capture your expertise. Examine it and see where it fits with right brain, left brain, in which context it features; stretch it out, make it amazing. Put that amazing content into say 6 sessions and offer to share it with a paying audience whether private or public. Write it up – in a blog, a white paper, a LinkedIn article, a newsletter, even a book. This leads to your credibility. Be patient. Masterpieces take time. You won't get on stage in the Melbourne Convention Centre next month. You won't get to mentor the CEO of BHP next week. You won't be invited to train IT specialists this year. You won't get to coach your nation's Olympic team by putting up a web site saying you can. You have to earn the right. Lisa is easy to reach at www.lisaoneill.co.nz

I feel like I say this ALL THE TIME, but I loved this conversation with Zoë Routh. We met about three years ago when I joined Thought Leaders Business School, and I liked her immediately! We have loads of things in common – a love of food and travel, pet chickens, and we both have close ties with Canada. Professionally, Zoë is a leadership expert specialising in the people stuff. She shows leaders and teams struggling with office politics and silos how to work better together. She is also the author of three books, with her fourth book, People Stuff - the power of perspective for better leadership, due out mid-2020. Zoë is also the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to exploring perspective in people stuff so we can live and lead better. Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is mother to a few garden-wrecking chooks. You can connect with Zoe at www.zoerouth.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can listen to this episode via the link above, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone. What Zoë Routh and I talked about Having chickens at pets connection is currency and having a trust bank account building rapport through hugs Brene Brown and Maya Angelou Zoe's fourth book, People Stuff – The Power of Perspective for Better Leadership how we see the world and how we be in the world how we make the best of a situation is an exercise in perspective deep humility and deep curiosity things that shape perspective how values shape your world view Survivor Against Empathy Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery The Authenticity Accelerator by Robert Rabbin Lance Secretan Ken Wilber The Last Lecture by Jeffrey Zaslow and Randy Pausch You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

Kate Billing and I met when we both started at Thought Leaders Business School on the same day, about two and a half years ago. I immediately knew we would become firm friends, and we have. As well as being one of the smartest people I know, she is also kind, generous, funny and determined to make the world a better place. I can't tell you how delighted I am to share some of her wisdom with you. Kate is an edge thinker and path-maker on a mission to forge better leaders for New Zealand. She is a co-founder of Blacksmith, an Auckland-based boutique leadership development practice that uses fully human development approaches to evolve leadership at a personal and collective level. She is committed to a conscious approach to life, leadership and business and believes that ‘fully human development' is the best mechanism for unlocking the potential of individuals and organisations to thrive. She has worked in the people, culture and leadership space for over 20 years, and is known for her sharp insights, compassionate challenge, warmth and energy. Over that time she has worked within a range of industry sectors and organisations, with leaders from the boardroom to the front line, all of whom have demonstrated their capacity for personal and collective transformation. Kate believes New Zealand can be a leader in the new world; an example of what's possible when people commit to the highest levels of personal and collective responsibility. Blacksmith's recognition as one of the top 10% B Corp Companies globally suggests they are on the right track. You can find Kate through the Blacksmith website and connect with her on LinkedIn. You can listen to this episode via the link above, on iTunes or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone. What Kate Billing and I talked aboutConnecting to yourself Being diagnosed with alopecia areata at 24 Learning to meditate Otto Scharmer and his work on new theory Connecting to the land and our environment Being a humanist The recent Business Roundtable statement on the purpose of a corporation Kindness in business Saying thank you Working with our husbands Cal Newport – Deep Work Giving permission Building a movement around this more human-centred conscious approach to business and leadership Flexibility at work Tim Ferris podcast interview with Chip Conley Modern Elder Academy Orphan X books by Gregg Hurwitz B Corp and being recognised as one of the top 10% of B Corps globally If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle.If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

In this episode, I’m really excited to have on the InnovaBuzz podcast as my guest, Peter Cook, CEO of Thought Leaders & Dean of Thought Leaders Business School. Peter shows business owners how to generate a highly leveraged income as a subject matter expert.  He has a passion for progress and an obsession with implementation. Peter is a best selling author with 8 books to his name, including The New Rules of Management, The Thought Leaders Practice and the E-Myth Bookkeeper, which he co-authored with Michael E. Gerber. In our discussion, Peter talked to me about The difference between a Practice business model and the Entrepreneur business model and the importance of Thought Leadership Peter defined thought leadership as extending the thinking in a particular area How to value your product or service by starting with the journey you take clients on and the transformation you help them make. Listen to the podcast to find out more. Show Notes and Blog The Podcasts

In the episode of #theoyster LIVE on Facebook, I'm joined by Speaker, Author and Mentor Peter Cook!  As the CEO of Thought Leaders and Dean of Thought Leaders Business School, Peter is obsessed with helping clever people be commercially smart.  You can find out more about Peter and the work he does by visiting www.petercook.com This is an episode not to be missed - with a special bonus gift for listeners who want to find out more about how Peter helps his clients invoice $500K-$1.5 Million whilst working 50-200 days per year with clients they love! So much great advice in here - personally, I took so much away from this interview - it was a real eye-opener for me.  Be sure to subscribe to our podcast to never miss an episode of #theoyster where we ask our expert guests to share their pearls of wisdom about the Science Behind Better Business.

About the Authors   This book has three authors; Matt Church, Sacha Coburn and Col Fink, and is a spin off of the Thought Leaders Business School series of books.   Thought Leaders Business School is the most comprehensive Thought Leaders program ever, they pride themselves on helping clever people be commercially smart.   Matt Church is the founder of TLBS and speaks at conferences and runs development programs for leaders. He is committed to helping people prepare for tomorrow by taking action today.   Sacha Coburn’s passion has been to better understand how to unleash potential in leaders, how to unlock peak performance in teams, and how to ignite a spark within business leaders so they create environments for their people to flourish and excel.   Col Fink is an “irrepressibly enthusiastic speaker who cares a great deal about making people’s lives more awesome”. He presents keynote speeches designed to make the world a better place, and teaches others how to do the same.   Source: https://tlbusinessschool.com/ , https://www.mattchurch.com/ , https://colfink.com/#culture and https://thecompanyyoukeep.co.nz/who-we-are/   About the Book   Providing the missing link between strategy and execution, Speakership unpacks the science of influence.   Whether you want to speak to build a brand and position your expertise, or accelerate your leadership pathway, Speakership gives you the knowledge and tools you need to master the art of leading out loud.   Learn the 9 key principles of speakership so you can: spread messages that matter learn to lead, rather than manage mobilise people into action experience the ultimate personal development vehicle   This book is a map for leaders and ambitious achievers who want to harness the power of presentations to influence their projects, the implementation of their ideas and their tribe.   Your ability to stand and deliver in front of your teams, your colleagues, your clients will set you apart. Influencing and inspiring those around you by sharing messages that matter gives you instant credibility and cut-through.   Source: https://www.mattchurch.com/speakership-book Links Free sample chapter: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/532fc9abe4b0dca0929a7015/t/57f471e39f74563d2dbdd624/1475637733889/Speakership+sample+chapter.pdf BIG IDEA 1 (6:20) - Think before you speak. The book has a great concept of ‘full spectrum thinking’. It is about thinking with your left brain, the right brain, the positioning, how you’re inspiring, informing, your key messages and that one big word you’re trying to get across your audience   It’s also about unpacking your genius - the idea about going big (exploring all your ideas) to go small (get specific on the action or change you want to see). Thinking across the spectrum by looking at old and new ideas or contemporary interpretations of the big word that you are getting across helps deepen the support for your ideas. It is also about thorough preparation of your thinking and having a point and being able to support it.   There are practical concepts in the book on how you can position your ideas based on how you structure them through thorough idea generation. One example is the idea of time capsule which helps create the format of your presentation.      BIG IDEA 2 (8:39) - Find your style and connect. This idea is about being yourself and how to bring your very own personality to the stage. Sometimes this involves owning your weaknesses and flipping them to become a strength. One example would be if others see your being over-committed as a weakness, you can turn this into a strength by saying you are over committed because you are very enthusiastic.  This enthusiasm then becomes part of your ‘brand’.   Finding your style and connecting includes using stories to create the atmosphere and mood you want, to make your point and connect with the audience.     Finally, when connecting it’s important to think about your pre-preparation and your influences before you walk up to the stage to perform. What are you doing and how are you preparing to get into that zone?  Are you in the right mindset to present? Your own feelings will often be quickly reflected back to you by the audience - good or bad!   Click here to buy on The Book Depository   Music By: Sunshine - Instrumental Version By D.A.H. Trump   Let’s Connect LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/steph-clarke Instagram: @stephsbizbookshelf Join in the book club conversation all week by joining the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stephsbusinessbookclub    Enjoying the show? Please hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode and leave a review on iTunes to help others find us.

Jane Anderson is a Leadership and Communications expert. With over 20 years' experience in Personal Branding she has worked with over 50,000 people on building more trust and influence in their businesses and brands. Her clients include Virgin Australia, Lego, Ikea, Rio Tinto and Origin Energy. She is on faculty in Thought Leaders Business School, mentoring some of Australia's leading experts in their field. Jane's blog was recently voted in the top 10 branding blogs in Australia and in the top 30 branding gurus globally. She is the host of the iTunes podcast "The Jane Anderson Brand You Show" and has been featured in Business Insider, Sky Business, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Jane has been nominated three times for the Telstra Business Women's Awards, and the author of five books including her latest “EXPERT to INFLUENCER: 12 Key Skills to Attract New Clients, Increase Sales and Leverage your Personal Brand to Become an Industry Leader.”

Implementation and progress goes hand in hand. Peter Cook, who is a best-selling author and CEO of Thought Leaders Business School, made sacrifices to overcome all of his challenges on the way to his success. He was able to learn from his failures and would blog about his progress. Today, he has helped thousands of thought leaders achieve business and financial mastery. During this conversation, you’ll discover… The importance of being competitive and focused Why reputation is everything Why you have to aim to fail 50% of your offers To find out more about Peter, visit https://www.thethoughtleaderrevolution.com/.

Jane Anderson is a Personal Branding and Presentation Skills expert. She is a communication expert with over 12 years in personal branding and LinkedIn in profile development. Jane works with experts in their field to grow their businesses and increase their leads, her clients include Virgin Australia, Cisco, Leggo, IKEA, Rio Tinto and Origin Energy. Jane has been featured in Business Insider, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Courier Mail and Marie Claire and is the host of the number 1 ranked iTunes Podcast, The Jane Anderson Brand You Show. Jane is a nominee for Telstar Business Awards for 2016 and a mentor on Thought Leaders Business School, helping clever people be commercially smart. Jane has been endorsed by LinkedIn as one of the top influences in Australia and New Zealand; she is also the author of 3 books including Connect: How to Leverage Your LinkedIn Profile for Business Growth and Lead Generation in Less Than 7 Minutes per Day.   Questions Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey How do you feel about customer service/ customer experience on a global level? From your book, what are some of the top things that will help business owners to grow their business, to leverage and understand their business and how customer service can help their business and get more leads and more customers and will they see results? Yanique indicated that se read Jane’s website that Jane believes people should really be optimizing on their personal brand because people buy you. How do you stay motivated every day? What is the one online resource, website, tool or app that you absolutely cannot live without in your business? What are some of the books that have had the biggest impact on you? What is one thing in your life right now that you are really excited about – something that you are working on to develop yourself or people? Where can our listeners find your information online? What is one quote or saying that you live by or that inspires you in times of adversity?   Highlights Jane Anderson state that when she was growing up something that she has always been interesting in was the world of business but while she was in high school, her very first job was in retail and she worked for a company called Mavis Shoes in Australia and Mavis Shoes is a family type shoes store and they have branches all over Australia. She started working for the Mavis Shoes brand when was she was 14 years old but the keeping was that the Mavis family owned the Mavis brand and it was a big iconic family in Australia and they sold the company and moved on. She started in retail and remembered how the experience was with customers and how she was allowed to have a customer by herself for the first month. They had to have somebody with them the whole time, the standards of training was high but it lead her down the path of really starting to become interesting in personally branding businesses so the Mavis name is still known in Australia, they are 3rd and 4th generation retailers and she has since gone on to work with other industries like State Government, Roads and Transport but she kept coming back to retail, she spent about 15 years in retail, she was a manager. She did a marketing degree but have always loved customers, she loves being able to make them happy but she worked with the Mavis family for 12 years and one of the things she found while working with them is that what drew people to the business was because everybody had a story about the family, everybody knew something about them or they knew the daughters and what she notice was that the family had a strong reputation in the community and they were very well respected and her job was to make sure that their values of customer service that she adapted those and did things in the same way as if they were in the store, she went on to be a area manager for them. She then went on to work for a super retail group, Supercheap Auto in Australia, it is the fastest growing retail companies, they have just over 10,000 staff and she was the Learning and Development Officer for them. She always knew she would go out on her own, it’s something she has always been committed to is customer service. She grew up in a place called Lismore in Australia, which is laid back, she moved to the city when she finished University because she just wanted the jobs there and she has gone on to doing other things. Jane Andersons stated that on a global level from what she see and talking clients is that she thinks there’s not one way to do things anymore, there are so many channels the way you access customers and particular now, what’s the digital platform that matches the face to face customer experience. She stated that she was talking to someone the other day and they said, “the only reason why I on Twitter is make a customer service complaint because if I can’t the answers, they’ll soon answer me if I’m on Twitter”, so the customer service experience she thinks is a lot more transparent than it use to be in the past. If somebody has a bad experience, it’s not that hard for us to go and find out, people make comments on Facebook pages and Twitter, so the digital foot print as part of your customer experience in your business is something she thinks people don’t always think is much. She stated that the other thing is about evolving and changing, so if you look at the retail industry, something that they have noticed in Australia and it’s been in the media, is that retail businesses are being extraordinary slow to adapt online shopping as part of their experience, so a lot of Australian shoppers have shopped overseas online because the can get it cheaper and so Australian retailers suffer because they are not offering the customer experience that people want, so people will shop overseas. Those 2 things, the impact of digital social media, businesses evolving and changing fast enough because it’s the ones that edge all, who can move quickly if they look at thing like Instagram or what people are able to sell and create the customer experience and integrate that, it’s just not walking pass the shop front anymore. Jane stated that the challenge is that the customer is driving the direction of the experience, not the businesses and it depends on the kind of business you are in but she thinks that 1 of the challenge is being able to know when to listen to customers and when not to, she always thinks of that Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” Sometimes it’s that balance, it’s not necessarily playing with the popularity contest. They’ll say, I need you to look at what’s trending and stop marketing around what customers or what people are talking about and what’s trending but the problem with that is that you’re just diluting your business because you’re focusing on what people are talking about what they want but sometimes it’s about being comfortable that what you’re talking about is actually about what people need and you have to be comfortable that you might not be popular, you might not be everybody’s favorite but if you’re following what everybody is interested in, you become commoditize, so you have to be very careful that you can still stand out even if customers are wanting it and everyone’s following what customers want. Sometime you have to actually go in the opposite direction. Jane stated that when she first started her business, she is a sole entrepreneur and have a team of 1 staff member full-time and rest of her team are contractors but one of the things when she first started and she left corporate business life was that she had some money saved and she thought she was going to go out and start her business and the first year she lost about $30,000.00 in google advertisments and search engines optimization and it wasn’t that anything was wrong with those products, they are fantastic but she spent it on the wrong person and she was a little naïve and this person said that they were an expert but she might have well just given the money away. When that happened she had a choice, she had either go back to job or she had to find a way to make it work with zero budget, so it forced her to start to learn about LinkedIn a little more, it’s free and she can go and start reaching out to people and contacting them and that was in 2009. At the time she was also writing profiles for her clients, so they were getting jobs, and branding people and what happened was that she used LinkedIn to help grow her business and that was how, she learnt from someone in the United States of America about how the algorithms work. She is also productivity. The book was written for people who are time poor, who just really need it to work for them when they need it to, when they are trying to grow their business and what are the activities they need to work on that will get the growth. There are thought leaders, experts in their fields she has worked with and she generally says, “you can get your turn over up to the $300,000.00 mark just purely through LinkedIn before you start your website.” She stated that LinkedIn is extraordinary powerful and what it did for her at a time when she had no money and she had to try and work out how to grow her business, it puts you in the drivers’ seat as to hoping that you will get an enquiry on your website. Jane stated that a client who is a sole entrepreneur, her name is Rachael Burke who lives in Australia and is a Sales Expert and she came to her and said, “I’m not really good at lead generation but I’m really good at selling, so I just need more customers.” So what she did with her was to show her the formula and how to get it to work and she increased her sales by over 66% in 3 months, so that’s in the hundred of thousands of dollars. She does LinkedIn for lead generation for large organizations as well as small ones and sole entrepreneurs. Jane stated that in Australia, they have a business which is a big superannuation and superannuation in Australia is like money you put away for your retirement and they built all the LinkedIn profiles for the staff and for the financial planners for the business and what she got them to do was, they have a change of legistration in Australia so it was a great time to educate the market on some of the changes because nobody was educating the market, she was out looking. She said to them that they need to run webinar, they need to got out and educate some of these clients and they got 500 new leads from that webinar. That was purely through leveraging the profiles and that was about 50 staff that got their profiles built. The opportunities that are in there but the thing is with LinkedIn is that, she find most people will come to her and say, “I’ve got a LinkedIn account but I have never achieve any results from it.” and then she’ll ask them what their profile say, there are often be no content in it at all or she’ll ask them how often they have reached out to people? What have you said to them? What have you invited them to? What’s your content plan? And they don’t have any of that, so LinkedIn doesn’t make clients magically appear, you have to go out and find them but you’ve got to have really good collateral and they make a decision about you in 3 seconds. You have to make sure that all your collateral and profile is so nice and polished and sharp and that it matches how amazing you are in person because we only have 3 seconds for them to go “wow, this person knows what they are doing, this person is amazing, I have to talk to you.” To have a profile that really works, like making sure it turns up in search results as well as having that impact when they see you. For just a simple 3 seconds, that’s how long they look at it before they move on and have a look at somebody else, so they have to make sure that they make their job really easy. Jane stated that people need to shift their attention now onto the other person, so you’re looking for what’s the common ground or what the purpose because the other person is asking themselves “why are you offering to connect with me?” so you’ve got to be able to answer the “why”, so if you’re reaching out and for example, she was reaching out medical financial planner, if he just looked at her profile and say, “why is she offering to connect with me, I don’t understand.” She explained to him that she does a lot of work with doctors, she helps them with lead generation but she helps them who are going into specialist training programs and she said to him, “I would love to catch up with you, I think there’s an opportunity for me to perhaps add some value to your clients, if not, that’s totally fine but here are some links, you are welcome to check out what I do and I would love to catch up with you for coffee one day and see what I can do to help you as well.” And so he met with her, so it all started from there and you’ve got to focus, look at their profile, what is it that they do and you have to address, “I notice this on your profile or I notice that you do this type of work, I notice that you’re in the same industry, I do this type of work or I help people like you in this space, so I thought I’d connect.” Jane stated that what happens is that just because you are ready to sell, doesn’t mean that the customer is ready to buy. So when you reach out to people, people have got to get to know you so they are going, “hold on, I haven’t even met you” and it’s a little like dating. She recalled she went on a date with a guy once and he turned up with a bag pack and she said to him, “have you just coming from the gym?” and he said, “No, you never know, things might go alright” and she thought he was joking and he opened his bag and there was a tooth brush, he had a change of clothes, his undies. She stated that LinkedIn is a little like that, is that sometimes we turn up with a bag pack, we’re ready to move in together, start this relationship and go in whole but the customer is saying, “hold on, can we just have coffee first, who are you?” So we sort of scare people and that’s when you hear people say they just get harass by sales people. You have to connect, be liked, friendly but then you’ve got to let people get to know you through your content, Mark Port who wrote the book, Book Yourself Solid said, “you have got to earn the right to sell.” And the problem is that most people don’t earn the right and then they scare people away. You can then ask for the value, you can ask for what you want based on the value you delivered. So in other words, if you have given enough, you have done enough content, if you kept visible enough, if you build enough trust, now you’re ready to go and ask for what you want. One of the things she does with clients is that she will look at how much value they have given to their audience because what they do is done nothing, they have given no value and they will say to her, “I want to be able to grow my business on LinkedIn but it’s not working.” But are not giving their audience any value, so you can’t go and ask for what you want because you haven’t earn it yet. You can do that in less then 7 minutes a day. Jane shared her concept of people buying you, her experience working with this family from she was 14 years old, people’s connections were so intertwined. Jane shared back then the only way people really knew who you were was if you were on TV or something or if you are in the newspaper. Now, Social Media has heavily leveled the playing field so if you leverage your name and identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that you bring to your customer. Jane says thought leaders will at times come to her and say there is so much content out there already about for example productivity and Jane believes there is only one of you and so people deserve to hear your unique views on the subject – your experiences, your voice, you lens, your interpretation and your insights. Your Social Media profile, particularly something like Linked In offers great opportunities for a small business owner or soloproneur that is leveraging their own brand – you own your own profile, you can add agility, personality and so much more which is a threat to larger companies. Jane shared how she stays motivated every single day – Jane thinks it is important to be really clear about your purpose and what you want. Jane shared she thinks that motivation really hits you when you have a choice at 2:00 am in the morning and you have the choice of going to bed or finishing that last bit of work because you really want to do it and get it done. Jane says she believes that it is in those moments that your motivation will either work for you or against you and it is in those moments that purpose is really important. Jane says some other factors that really keeps her motivated is that she is very particular about the people that she works with – she chooses to work with thought leaders and experts in their fields as they inspire her. She further stated that if they bring the best to her and inspire her then she can bring the best to others and inspire them. Jane also shared that it is important to find a group that you can belong to that are similar to you such as an industry association etc. and then Jane said there is also the basics such as eating well, get enough sleep as these activities help to make you more productive and efficient. Jane shared the one website, online tool or app that she absolutely cannot live without in her business is LinkedIn as a Social Media platform but the one app she cannot live without is actually an app that she created. Jane spent some time as a Productivity Consultant working with some real large corporations, she did a lot of work helping CEO’s and EA’s how to work really well together and what she found working with the two set of persons was the speed of communication between going to meetings and being on the run. Jane said she was looking an Concur, which is an IT company that looks at the on-the-go economy and how there is this shift to doing things on the go. Jane said the app she has created is called “Memo-Mailer” and it can be accessed at memomailer.com and it is available on iTunes. Jane stated the way that it works is holding down the button in the app – say what you have to say and then the app will email the memo to your Inbox. Jane said sometimes ideas come along at really inconvenient times and this tool really captures those things. Jane stated that she built the app with her colleague Dermot Crowley, who is an expert in Productivity and he has written the book Smart Work, which was recently released and hit Best Seller in Australia. Jane said that’s the app she definitely cannot live without. Jane shared some books that have had the biggest impact on her Sew Your Thoughts by Matt Church, he has spent the last 30 years helping people who are experts in their fields commercialize their ideas. She also mentioned Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port, which is a New York Times Best Seller and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Jane mentioned another book she really believes is great is How the World Sees You by Sally Hogshead, she has created a diagnostic testing that helps people identify what makes them fascinating. Jane also mentioned Seth Godin’s Linchpin as a great book too. Jane gave us an additional nugget through the book – Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck – another “must read!” Jane shared the one thing that is going on in her life right now that she is really excited about is a piece of work that she is working on to further develop her Linked In engagements with clients which will be called the Lead Generation Indicator. The tool is specifically designed for people who are experts in their field and will help clients identify 12 activities that will grow your business even if it is from scratch with absolutely no clients. A complete package for business owners. Kay stated that listeners can find him on: Jane Anderson LinkedIn Jane Anderson Facebook Jane Anderson Instagram Jane Anderson Twitter Jane Anderson SnapChat Jane Anderson Periscope Jane Anderson Website Jane shared a quote that she has on her wall and sees all the time during times of adversity – “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill ***Jane says she feels that this is a quote that she believes is in the trenches with her when she needs to hear something real and authentic.   Links Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey How the World Sees You by Sally Hogshead Seth Godin’s Linchpin Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Adam and Jeannie interview personal branding expert Jane Anderson live from the National Speakers Association's Influence 2016 Convention. Personal brands have more personal customers “When you’re in a personally branded business, you are far more connected to your customers than ever,” says personal branding expert Jane Anderson. That said, relying on big-brand customer service experience in a personal brand setting can be a huge mistake! Jane outlines some of the key distinctions for us and shares some great examples of how this can go wrong. It’s crucial to consider everything from how you dress yourself to how you train your staff. Jane explains the three main elements of excellent customer service for clients in a personal brand setting. What’s the best way to approach unhappy customers as a personal brand? Here’s where making the right distinctions and your personal connection to clients can make the biggest difference. Listen to Jane’s story of how she turned a terrible customer service situation into a highly-valued relationship. As a bonus, Jane shares some great tips for personal brands using LinkedIn for marketing. The wrong approach to presenting your brand and interacting on social networks can spell disaster for your reputation. Jane has helped thousands of personal brands create an outstanding presence on LinkedIn. What else can you learn from Jane to polish up and optimize your personal branding? There are lots of vital tips and considerations packed into this special episode. Listen in! About our guest Jane Anderson is a Personal Branding Expert with over 20 years of experience. She has worked with over 12,000 people on having more impact and influence in their careers and businesses. She holds one of the top 1% viewed profiles on LinkedIn and is the host of the number 1 ranked iTunes podcast “Jane Anderson Brand You Show.” Jane is also a mentor on the Thought Leaders Business School, Australia’s leading program for experts in their industry. She is a certified speaking professional. Less than 10% of speakers globally hold this certification. Jane’s clients include Virgin Australia, Ikea, Lego, Mercedes Benz, Cisco, Australian Medical Association and University of Australia. Jane has been featured in BBC Online, Management Today, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Courier Mail, Marie Claire and Today Tonight. She was a nominee for the Telstra Women’s Business Awards for 2014 and 2016. Connect with Jane Twitter LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Jane Anderson.com Related Content Episode 114: Ron Tite, Branding and Creativity Expert Episode 084: Sylvie Di Giusto, Why First Impressions Matter Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices