Photo courtesy of JC Belmonte and Flickr
“The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own – what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.”
Curtis Jackson (aka 50-Cent
This week, my Facebook Live session in the Exponential Practice Professional Group started with this question: “Do you want to grow an audience of well-qualified people who will jump at the chance to work with you?” In this article, we’re going to look at some of the unexpected keys to growing an audience who are fascinated with what you’re doing, and eager to hear from you.
Be yourself
Early in the session, I talked about the incredible power of authenticity, and read the excellent quote from 50-Cent. In the over-communicated world we now live in, people have “radar” for authenticity. Authenticity conveys trust and credibility. When you’re being yourself, undefended and open, you have a disarming and engaging quality. This makes it easy for the people who resonate with you to engage with you, and the people who don’t to leave. As Alex Mandossian once put it, “I want people to turn up the volume, or change the channel.” So why do so many people struggle to show themselves and speak their truth?
Get used to criticism
When you speak your truth authentically, you’re going to be criticised. My Sunday Times bestselling book RESULTS: Think Less, Achieve More has 42 reviews on Amazon as I write. Of those, 33 of them give it 5 stars and 7 give it 4 stars, saying how reading the book changed the reviewers life. But there are also scathing one and two star reviews (my book CLARITY has many of these too), and that’s good. “Good?!?” I hear you exclaim. “How can that be good?” It’s good because it’s getting a response. People are reacting to it. In a world where most books get completely ignored, a book that polarises opinion is a sign you’re doing something right.
Start somewhere
One of the audiences I do a lot of work with are “Transformation Professionals” (coaches, therapists, trainers, consultants etc), and one of the things they sometimes struggle with is “choosing a niche”. Here’s an excerpt from my book RESULTS that many of my clients have found incredibly helpful (©2016 Jamie Smart):
Every audience is another room in your mansion
Here’s a way of thinking about it: imagine that you’ve inherited a large and beautiful mansion, with a trust fund dedicated to paying all the running costs. There’s only one catch: if you want the trust fund to pay the bills, you have to restore the mansion. There are groundskeepers on staff to take care of the exteriors and gardens, but the rooms are your domain. The rooms are in a shocking state, with torn wallpaper and broken chairs. They need cleaning, painting and decorating. They need furnishing, carpeting and plenty of tender loving care to return them to their former glory. So which room do you want to start with? The lounge or the master bedroom? The kitchen or the billiard room? Once that one’s been taken care of, you can decide which one you want to do next. You don’t have to limit yourself to one; you don’t have to stay in it forever. You don’t need to make the room part of your identity. You just need to decide which one you want to start with. Then, once you’re done, you can decide which one you want to do next.
It’s the same with audiences. You don’t need to limit yourself to one, or stay with the same audience forever. You don’t need to make the group part of your identity. But it can be very useful to choose which one you want to start with; a group you’d love to serve. Then, if you decide you want to increase your domain, you can decide which group you want to serve next. Every audience is another room in your mansion.
Remember, everyone is walking around in a separate reality; a Thought-generated perceptual reality that they experience as an actual reality. People gravitate towards others who have perceptual realities similar to their own. A tribe is a group of people whose values and worldview are similar enough that they find it easy to connect with and relate to each other.
By the way, if you missed my Facebook Live you can watch the entire 40-minute video for free in the Exponential Practice Professional Group. If you’re a transformation professional and you want to grow your practice exponentially, in ways that feel great and deliver real results, then you could be a good fit for this friendly, supportive and inspiring community. During the video, you’ll be able to get your own insights and realisations into the things I’ve covered in this newsletter as I…
– Clear up all the nonsense about niching
– Reveal the essential keys to growing your audience
– Remove the hidden obstacles that most coaches, therapists and consultants struggle with
– and plenty more!
The group has already grown to more than 1600 members, and you can join for free at www.JamieSmart.com/expo
I look forward to connecting with you there, and helping you grow your audience!
Big love
Jamie
Project Glasswing (aka Coaching Package Power) kicked off last weekend, and we had a great time working on all this stuff. We’ve got a couple of seats left on the programme, and there’s time to catch up if you take action now. Here’s how you’ll know if you’re a good fit:
– You are a coach, therapist or change-worker (Eg. Sports coach, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, business coach, bodyworker etc)
– You have at least one year’s experience of working with clients (either paid, pro-bono or both)
– You probably charge by the hour, but want to use a “coaching package” model and increase your income
– You have room to work with at least one longer term contract client, starting in 2017
– You’re an enthusiastic, friendly people-person
– You have a coachable spirit, and are willing to step out of your comfort zone if necessary, and
– You can keep a secret
If that’s you, then email me at info@jamiesmart.com, and let me know where you’re located and a little about yourself (if you don’t know what to tell me about, look at the list above for inspiration). Change the subject line to “Project Glasswing JST”. Talk to you soon!