All Selling Aside with Alex Mandossian | "Seeding Through Storytelling is the 'New' Selling!"

Many years ago, in northern Asia, an arrogant samurai warrior challenged his Zen master to explain the difference between evil and goodness. The master's response had a sense of mockery, even disgust, as he said, "I will not waste my time with such scum as you." The arrogant samurai reacted by pulling out his sword and screaming in a rage, "Little man, I will cut you into pieces for your insults!" The Zen master responded, "That, my dear friend, is what evil is like."

When he heard this response, the samurai calmed down and began to understand the deep wisdom that the master was teaching him. He thanked the Zen master for the insight, and went down on one knee in gratitude. "That, my dear warrior," the master replied, "is what goodness is like." The moral of this story is that experience is not the best teacher. Rather, experience is the only teacher.

Think of the words "empathy" and "sympathy." Imagine trying to describe the difference to someone just using descriptions. This probably seems pretty tricky, right? Now, think of it through the lens of a story. You're on a boat fishing with one of your friends. As the boat rocks, your friend gets seasick and starts vomiting over the side of the boat. Sympathy is putting your arm around your friend and reassuring him or her that it'll be okay. Empathy is putting your arm around your friend and then vomiting with them. Suddenly the difference between empathy and sympathy is clear, all through the power of storytelling.

In today's episode, you'll learn that stories reach all four levels of consciousness. The first level is the mind, or the mental level of consciousness. This is the logical level. The second level of consciousness is the emotional level, or the heart. The third level is physical, which you can think of in terms of what you want your candidate to physically do. This might be writing something down, for example. The fourth and final level is all about spirituality. To be clear, this isn't religious, but it's ethereal; it's something outside the mental, emotional, and physical.

Tune into this episode to learn more about all this and much more. If you want to become a world-class ethical influencer, everything begins with a story, and I'm ready to teach you how to how to use the power of storytelling.

In This Episode:

[01:59] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:47] - We hear an insightful story that illustrates why experience isn't the best teacher, but rather the only teacher.

[04:12] - From this story, Alex explains, we learn that we can understand things better through stories or experience than descriptions.

[05:18] - Alex explores the difference between empathy and sympathy as an example of what he has been talking about.[06:27] - We hear how the power of storytelling relates to sales.

[07:10] - Alex recounts a story from early in one of his children's lives, making it clear again why experience is the best teacher.

[08:35] - When Alex was four years old, he had a death experience (not just a near-death experience). He remembers exactly what he saw and felt.

[09:48] - Alex talks about some of the great storytellers, and points out that we learn most (and sell best) from great storytelling.

[10:41] - A story hits four levels of consciousness, Alex explains.

[13:47] - Movement is life, Alex points out, and that's what stories offer.

[15:11] - Alex talks about how often and effectively some of the greats told stories.

[16:25] - Alex doesn't believe it's necessary to offer the "why" for your story before you tell it. Instead, just launch into the story without distractions.

[19:04] - Many influencers don't use ethics, and use tricks while lacking sincerity.

[19:55] - Alex talks about propaganda, which uses stories that are called narratives.

[21:27] - Alex offers listeners a quick review of the specific insights that he has covered in this episode.

[22:09] - Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please type in your biggest takeaway from the episode as a review at this link! While you're there, please rate the episode too.

[23:30] - Listeners who want a free gift are welcome to a free copy of Alex's book Alexisms. To learn how to get your free copy, tune into the episode!

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Jeffrey Gitomer

Aesop

Nasreddin Hodja

Shakespeare

Lewis Carroll

John Steinbeck

Roy Williams

Zig Ziglar

Jim Rohn

Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek's TED Talk

Once, I was speaking on stage in front of hundreds of other thought leaders and entrepreneurs. I wrote down the word "compassion" and asked what it said. When we unpacked it, they learned that the word "compassion" has three other words inside of it. Compass, the first word, is about knowing which direction to go. Passion, the second word, is about the heart (whereas compass is about the head). Ion, the third and final word, is the smallest substance that we can study. It represents the small action that you take when you're thinking big with passion.

The word "accountability" comes from the Roman senate, when it meant nothing more than showing up, so you were able to be accounted for. As you'll learn in this episode, accountability is the derivative of compassion. When you're accountable, you're showing up for the task and taking responsibility. This is your most reliable path to execution intelligence and getting extraordinary results.

In this episode, I'll talk about three of a leader's biggest responsibilities. The first is to define reality, which means assessing where you are, not just where you're going. The second is to protect confidence, both your own and that of your employees. For example, reprimanding or shaming your team (or your kids) publicly isn't protecting their confidence. The third responsibility of a leader is to communicate compassionately. This means to communicate in a way where the receiver gets you, and feels gotten.

You'll also learn that an agreement has three considerations: when, what, and who. You can think of this as who's doing it, what's getting done, and when it's due. There are also three ways to handle agreements. The first way to handle an agreement is to keep it. The second option is to renegotiate the agreement, typically changing the who or the when. The final way to handle an agreement is to unmake it. To be clear, if you're unmaking or renegotiating an agreement, it has to be before the deadline.

In This Episode:

[01:59] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:49] - We hear a story about Alex unpacking the three words that lie within the word "compassion" for an audience.

[05:43] - Accountability ends up being the derivative of compassion and is your most reliable path to execution intelligence, Alex explains.

[06:35] - Alex explores the root of the word "accountability."

[07:42] - Alex digs into the responsibility. As he explains, the leader's number one job is to define reality." The leader's second responsibility is protecting confidence.

[11:05] - The third responsibility of a leader is to communicate compassionately.

[11:51] - Today's Alexism is this: the three responsibilities of a leader are to define reality, protect confidences, and communicate with compassion. This is borrowed from three great thought leaders, as Alex explains.

[13:17] - Alex takes a moment to talk about agreements, covering their considerations and the ways to handle them.

[16:09] - Alex gives a specific example of what unmaking an agreement can look like to clarify the concept.

[17:53] - The team that gets along the best usually outperforms the team with the most talent, Alex explains.

[19:13] - Alex quickly reviews the insights that he has explored throughout this episode.

[20:46] - If you enjoyed this episode, please head to this link and type in the biggest insight you got from the episode as a review! (If you've done this for a previous episode, you won't be able to review the show again.)

[21:41] - Can you believe we're already ten episodes into the podcast?! In honor of this episode, you can get your own free copy of Alex's book Alexisms. To learn how to get your free copy, tune into the episode!

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

The Servant as Leader by Robert Greenleaf

Herman Miller

Leadership Is an Art by Max Depree

Dan Sullivan

The Dalai Lama

Marcel Proust

Lisa Nichols

Sir Richard Branson, who you may know for his Virgin companies, is dyslexic. While he may not be known as one of the great speakers of all time, he'll absolutely be remembered as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. He's a perfect example of how someone who's willing to try more things (despite potential public embarrassment) is more likely to be successful.

Barbara Corcoran, who you've seen if you've watched the show Shark Tank, is one of 11 children, and has been fired from many jobs. Even so, she became the queen of New York City real estate. This is partly because she isn't concerned about looking bad, and doesn't judge herself for making mistakes.

Mark Cuban's father was an auto upholsterer. Mark was a bartender for a while, but got fired from that job. Next, he got into the software business. Mark is fearless when it comes to taking calculated risks, and is great at thinking big and acting small. He also makes sure he has the right people around him.

General Colin Powell was born in Harlem to Jamaican immigrant parents. Instead of caring what other people thought about him, he expanded his comfort zone. By expanding your comfort zone instead of breaking or bursting through it, you'll be much more familiar to stay beyond your original comfort zone.

Steve Jobs was given up for adoption, and was fired from the company he started with Steve Wozniak. He made a comeback, though, and turned his company into one of the most valuable companies in the world. He had a knack for not worrying what other people thought about him or his ideas, and for driving people to create powerful teams.

Join me today to learn about these incredible dropouts, the traits they have in common, and the lessons they can teach all of us about being successful in our own lives and businesses.

In This Episode:

[02:08] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:57] - Alex was taught not to let his schooling interfere with his education. This was clearly the case for the five dropouts he'll talk about today!

[03:43] - Today's first dropout is Sir Richard Branson, who has a knack for aligning himself with smart people.

[06:35] - Sir Richard Branson is a brand-builder, Alex points out.

[07:24] - Our second famous dropout is Barbara Corcoran, who you may recognize from the show Shark Tank.

[08:37] - Next up is Mark Cuban, another star investor on Shark Tank.

[09:38] - The fourth dropout in today's episode is General Colin Powell.

[12:30] - One thing our four influencers who are dropouts have in common is that they have high intention and vision, but low attachment to what happens along the way. In other words, they give themselves permission to make mistakes.

[14:03] - Alex currently has three mentors, which he points out is a different thing than formal education.

[14:31] - Our fifth and final dropout for this episode is Steve Jobs.

[16:37] - This episode's Alexism is that the secret to wildly successful entrepreneurship is the blind willingness to look bad in public more often.

[17:35] - Alex shares a trick that he plays on his mind and heart every night to accomplish things that scare him.

[20:25] - After Alex has done the scary thing he identified in his exercise, he saves the card on which he had written it down.

[21:41] - We hear a quick review of the specific insights that Alex has covered in this episode.

[22:51] - Have you already reviewed this podcast for a previous episode? If not, please take a moment to do so now! Type out your biggest aha moment from this episode as your review at this link.

[23:38] - In honor of this ninth episode, Alex offers listeners a gift: a copy of his book Alexisms. To learn how to get your free copy, tune into the episode!

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Darren Hardy

Success Magazine

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy

Sir Richard Branson

Barbara Corcoran

Buckminster Fuller

Mark Cuban

General Colin Powell

Steve Jobs

Steve Wozniak

You may be surprised to know that one of the world's wealthiest men rarely showed up on the lists, because he had children and his fortune was divided among them. The man in question is Sam Walton, the founder and owner of Walmart and Sam's Club. The story of how this man from a modest background created such a profitable company is fascinating and provides incredible insights.

Sam would fly a small plane over the parking lots of other five-and-dime stores, looking for parking lots full of cars. When he found them, he would land his plane and go inside the store to learn what his competitors did. Through this process, he learned what worked for his competitors. Once he figured this out, he used the knowledge that he had gleaned to go into small cities, open a Walmart location, and become the biggest employer in town.

This story illustrates the idea that originality is the most dangerous principle in sales and marketing, as Rosser Reeves thought. It was through deeply researching what his competitors were doing well that Sam was able to create his empire. The only way to have a competitive advantage is to observe the competition, learn exactly what they're doing, and then do it better!

I remember going to Disneyland and Disney World. On some of the thrilling rides, you'll have your picture taken at the most exciting moment. You then have the choice of whether to buy that picture. At other amusement parks, you're not allowed to take pictures of the screen showing your picture. At Disneyland, though, you're actually encouraged to take these pictures, even if it means you won't pay for the original photograph. The reason is that you'll send out these pictures to your friends, and suddenly other people want to go to Disneyland. This illustrates another of my points for this episode: one of the keys to success is figuring out how to make money when people steal from you. Tune in to learn all about this, and much more!

In This Episode:

[02:06] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[03:07] - We hear the beginning of the story of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and Sam's Club.

[03:54] - Observation is your best friend in business or as a marketer. Alex talks about how Sam Walton observed and did his research.

[05:24] - Many people think that being original is the key to having a competitive advantage. Alex explores why this isn't the case.

[06:47] - Alex returns to the story of Sam Walton, explaining how successful his strategy was.

[08:42] - We hear some of the specific things that Sam learned from observing his competition, such as having a greeter at the front door.

[11:04] - This episode's Alexism is that experience is not the best teacher. Experience is the only teacher.

[12:46] - Alex brings up a question you should ask: "How do I make money after other people steal from me?" He then shares a specific example that makes this point very clear.

[15:53] - When Alex had a $2,500 product, people would steal the username and password to access the product for free. Alex explains why he had no problem with this.

[17:28] - Alex offers a quick review of the insights he has explored in this episode.

[18:39] - If you haven't already reviewed this show after listening to a previous episode, please take a moment to head to this link and type in your biggest takeaway from this episode!

[19:51] - Alex offers listeners a gift in honor of this eighth episode (and this will be the last time he does this, so jump on it now if you haven't before). You can get a free copy of his book Alexisms, which took him 25 years to write. To learn how to get yours, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Sam Walton

Unique selling proposition (USP)

Rosser Reeves

David Ogilvy

Jeff Bezos

Harv Eker

Millionaire Mind Intensive

Quantum Leap Program

Guerrilla Business Intensive

Around the time of the Depression, a young entrepreneur was the number one printer in New York City. However, his attitude was bad, and he started to lose clients, team members, and even his family. Before long, he couldn't sustain being in business, and found himself unable to pay his bills. Things got so bad that he even considered suicide.

While sitting on a bench in Central Park, he encountered a distinguished elderly gentleman. The young entrepreneur told the story of what was wrong in his life, and the elderly gentleman handed him a check for $1 million, asking him to come back in a year and explain what he had done with the money. He looked at the check, saw the name John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the corner, and excitedly thought that his life was finally changing for the better.

Instead of cashing the check, he carefully tucked it away in his safe, resolving to see what he could do without it. Over time, he won back his customers, his children, his vendors, and eventually his wife. The important thing to note here is that his skills hadn't changed at all; the only difference was his attitude. Within a year, he was number one again.

He brought the uncashed check back to the park bench a year later, only to find that the man who had given him the check was not actually John D. Rockefeller Jr. As this shows, belief can be just as important as reality. This story illustrates the be-do-have scenario: you become the person you need to be, do the things that person would do, and finally have the things that person would have. The idea that you need to have before you can do or be is backwards.

In this episode, you'll learn about all of this, as well as how to get A-players to join your team (believe it or not, salary is reason #5!), why beliefs determine behavior instead of the other way around, why B-players and A-players don't like each other, why attitude isn't learnable, and much more. Tune in to learn all these powerful insights that you can apply to your business!

In This Episode:

[02:06] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:50] - We hear a story (that may or may not be true) that illustrates the importance of having a good attitude.

[04:58] - Within the story Alex is telling, the young entrepreneur encounters an elderly man who will change the course of his life.

[07:34] - Alex takes a quick break from his story to point out that more millionaires were created during the Depression than at any other time during the history of the United States.

[11:15] - The young entrepreneur came back to the bench a year later, as planned. Alex explores the surprising turn of events that happened then.

[11:56] - Alex talks about the moral of the story, and what we can take away from it.

[10:19] - One of the keys is "going first" and being vulnerable with the people you want to change your relationship with.

[13:30] - Alex brings up Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Teresa as examples of the point he has been making.

[14:18] - The Alexism for this story is this: you don't need a parachute to skydive. You just need a parachute to skydive more than once.

[15:14] - How does this story and its lessons apply to your business?

[16:32] - Alex offers advice he learned from Brad Smart, the author of Topgrading.

[19:18] - We hear about Jack Welch's strategy to encourage high performance, as well as the story of Jim Carrey's check to himself.

[20:35] - Alex recaps the insights that he has covered in today's episode, as well as the story of a team winning due to their attitude.

[22:30] - Speaking of reviews, if you haven't already reviewed a previous episode of this podcast, please go to this link and type in your biggest takeaway from this episode as a review!

[23:20] - Alex offers listeners a final gift in honor of this seventh episode: a free copy of his book Alexisms! To learn how to get your free book, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Topgrading by Brad Smart

Jack Welch

Jim Carrey

Jim Valvano

Remember Aesop's fables? These stories were full of political points and lessons for listeners to learn. As you know if you've been listening to this podcast, storytelling is central to selling through ethical influence. So, let's explore one of Aesop's stories!

Once upon a time, there was a donkey who was starving. To his left, he saw an apple on the ground. To the right, he saw a pear. He looked back and forth between the two. Should he eat the apple? The pear? The apple? The pear? Before he managed to make a decision, he collapsed from hunger and died of starvation, all from his indecisiveness.

The could have tasted the apple and then tasted the pear to see which he liked, instead of trying to permanently choose one or the other. From there, he could have stuck with the second fruit, gone back to the first fruit, eaten one after the other, or even decided to go back and forth between the two fruits, one bite at a time.

This is the sort of thing that happens to us as parents, as children, and as ethical influencers. Your indecisiveness becomes a decision and you surrender your responsibility. The better option is to act small, by figuratively trying a bite each of the apple and pear. In the world of ethical influence, being decisive is the most lucrative skill, even (and sometimes especially) when those decisions are small.

One way to guide your small decisions is to do split-testing each step of the way. As you'll remember from a previous episode, this is when you test multiple options against each other to see which one to pursue further. Split-testing isn't just for sales, either. You can use it throughout your life, by finding something that works better and doing that until you find the next thing that works better. Every day, ask yourself, "What am I split-testing today?"

Mistakes are great! The more you make, the smarter you get.

Big innovations come from many micro-decisions.

We make 200 to 300 micro-decisions every day, which can drain your willpower. The most effective way to combat this is by making fewer decisions, which you can do by setting up systems.

is what we do in the ethical influence game.

In This Episode:

[02:02] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:50] - We hear about the importance of storytelling, specifically in storytelling and ethical influence.

[04:21] - Alex shares Aesop's donkey fable, and draws out some lessons from the story that are important for ethical influencers.

[06:45] - If the donkey had taken a small bite each of the apple and pear, he would have been able to make one of several decisions.

[08:33] - Great ethical influencers take small steps, dip their toes in the water, and only then decide whether to jump in.

[09:04] - Alex reveals that we make hundreds of decisions every single day, and discusses how we can relieve ourselves of some decision-making.

[11:18] - We learn about breadcrumb navigation toward a sale, as well as the role of split-testing in selling.

[12:46] - Alex gives an example of using split-testing to illustrate how the concept works.

[16:09] - You can use this split-testing technique everywhere, not just in sales. It applies in civic leadership, politics, parenting, spousal support, and just about every other aspect of your life.

[18:22] - We take a moment to look at split-testing as far as it relates to Darwin and the theory of adaptation.

[19:33] - The principle of priority involves knowing the difference between what is important and what is urgent, and doing what is important first.

[21:43] - Alex offers a quick review of some of the insights that he has covered in this episode.

[23:11] - If you haven't already done so for a previous episode of this podcast, please go to this link and type in your biggest takeaway from this episode as a review!

[24:16] - Alex offers listeners a final gift in honor of this sixth episode: a free copy of his book Alexisms! To learn how to get your free book, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Aesop's fables

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Principle of Priority

Buckminster Fuller

Let me share a quick story from several hundred years ago: people used to believe that a heavier object would fall faster than a lighter one. One day, Galileo dropped two cannonballs and found that they landed at the same time. This was significant because one of the cannonballs weighed twice as much as the other. If it's hard to believe, try this yourself! Take two things that weigh different amounts (like an almond and a bottle of water) and drop them from the same height. They'll land at the same time.

What this taught the world about gravity was important. Far more important, though, was what the incident represented: a new problem-solving method based on the authority of experimentation and observation. Today, we apply this scientific method to marketing as well as physics. Picture a marketing funnel for a moment. Because it's a metaphor rather than a physical funnel, gravity doesn't apply. Instead, the gravity that pulls leads through the funnel is your ability to ethically influence them.

There are several barriers that can prevent you from making a sale or influencing anyone. If someone doesn't know you, like you, or trust you, they won't buy from you. Other barriers come into play when they don't understand you, don't believe you, or it's not the right time. (If you want to hear about these topics in more detail, listen to the previous episodes of this podcast!) This means that you can control all but one of these barriers, and you can screen for the last one (whether it's the right time).

In addition to hearing many more details on all of these topics, you'll learn about why believability is the toughest of the six barriers, how to conquer this particular barrier through selling an emotion rather than a product, how the role of an ethical influencer is more closely related to storytelling than selling, and more! Tune into this episode, and don't forget to subscribe so you can keep learning every week.

In This Episode:

[02:02] - Alex talks about the three key insights into becoming an ethical influencer that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:47] - We hear a story about a warm 16th-century afternoon, when Galileo climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa to drop two cannonballs.

[04:25] - If you drop a feather and a cannonball, the feather will drop slower because of wind resistance.

[05:19] - Galileo's experiment was important because it was the day the scientific method was born. Until then, people thought that something twice as heavy would fall twice as fast, because Aristotle said so.

[06:38] - Alex explores how the points he has been making relate not only to gravity, but also modern marketing.

[07:43] - Ethical influence is more about storytelling than about selling, Alex explains.

[10:41] - Alex brings up the six barriers that prevent you from influencing anyone or making a sale.

[12:00] - We learn what the most difficult of the six barriers is: believability. Unfortunately, telling the truth alone isn't enough to guarantee people will believe you.

[13:47] - Alex likes to start addressing believability with emotion.

[16:14] - In coaching, you're fundamentally selling the emotions of clarity and certainty, Alex explains. A theme park sells fun and joy. Facebook sells a sense of belonging. These are examples of selling an emotion as a way to get people to believe you.

[17:37] - Alex provides a quick review of the specific insights covered in this episode.

[18:43] - If you haven't already, please go to this link and type in your biggest takeaway from this episode as a review! (If you've done that for a past episode, write it down on an index card instead to help you remember it.)

[20:28] - Alex offers listeners a final gift: a free copy of his book Alexisms! To learn how to get your free book, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

The Genius Network

In 2016, a former partner and I had launched a product that we had worked on for about a year. We grew a list of 85,000 people, and during our two-week launch based on Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula, we expected to generate $2 million to $3 million. Instead, we generated less than $400,000 in gross sales—and we were over $400,000 in debt! To break even, we would have needed to make almost double that amount. I was embarrassed, demoralized, and humiliated, and nobody seemed to care.

So what went wrong? As you'll learn today, there are three reasons why people won't buy from you: they don't understand you, they don't believe you, or it's not the right time. In this case, our specific mistake was that we didn't start with the end in mind, namely starting with the offer. Our audience liked and trusted us, and it was the right time, but they didn't understand us because we didn't make the offer clear.

Let's talk about context. Without context, pushing an elderly person is always problematic and wrong. But we probably all agree that pushing an elderly person out of the way of a bus is a good choice that warrants the push! Context is decisive, which means that how you frame your offer determines the response.

Today, I'll also talk about selling as scary work. In selling, the anticipation of the response (or rejection) from the other side can be terrifying. As Darren Hardy says, though, scary work pays well! That's where ethical influence comes in. By selling through storytelling, you can attract and convert more premium clients without the fear of traditional selling. I'll also discuss how taking scary steps expands your comfort zone, how to make selling fun, and the simple thing you can do every day to change your life!

In This Episode:

[01:59] - Alex talks about the three key insights, critical to making you a highly skilled ethical influencer, that you'll learn in this episode.

[02:47] - We hear a story that illustrates the point that context is more important than content; $400,000 sounds like a lot, unless you need $800,000 to break even!

[05:12] - Alex brings us to the specific moment that he was under the covers, in bed, with his face buried in his hands, trying to figure out why his launch didn't work.

[06:55] - There are three reasons why people won't buy from you. Alex explains what these are, and then talks about which one they failed at when their disastrous launch happened.

[09:00] - Alex discusses how they should have sold the product to make it clearer for the audience, so that they would understand it.

[09:20] - How did Alex make up the $400,000 in debt that he owed after the launch failed? His answer reveals all of the good that ultimately came from the failure he talked about.

[12:03] - The moral of the story is to make sure you're focusing on what's really important, Alex explains.

[14:47] - If you want to successfully ethically influence others, always start with your offer and know that the context is more important than the content.

[15:48] - Alex explains that he's hired to do high-end offers in a panel setting these days.

[17:08] - Alex shares something that flipped a switch for him, and may flip a switch for you as well: scary work pays well.

[19:29] - We learn what Alex did with the idea that scary work pays well, and how it helped him find success by doing things that scared him.

[21:14] - Alex quickly reviews the specific insights that he explored in this episode, and recaps a recommended daily task.

[23:01] - Alex offers listeners a final gift: a free copy of his book Alexisms! To learn how to get your free book, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

Alex Mandossian

MarketingOnline.com

Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!

Alexisms by Alex Mandossian

All Selling Aside on iTunes

Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

DigitalMarketer

Ryan Deiss

Darren Hardy's Darren Daily

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy

I'm friends with David Perdew, who runs Novice to Advanced Marketing System (NAMS). In 2015, David hired me to coach him to do two new things: to get pre-registrants for the following year, and to sell a high-end offer.

When it came time for him to make the offer, people asked, "What's in the offer?" My response was, "What difference does it make?" If you know, like, and trust David, then what's in the offer shouldn't matter, because you already know it will be something good. If you have enough relationship capital, then people will buy on command. This is what I mean when I say that the who is more important than what, how, when, where, and why. Tune into the episode to learn how David's high-end offer turned out, and why the unusual way we went about doing it (by allowing the students to create the offer) was so powerful.

Today's Alexism from my book Alexisms is this: you don't need a parachute to skydive. You just need a parachute to skydive more than once! This ties into today's topic because getting someone to know, like, and trust you is also a long-term game. If someone knows you, they're a suspect. If they like you, they're a prospect. And, if they trust you, they're a client or a customer.

Take a moment to imagine a bicycle wheel. At the center is the hub, and the wheel itself is the market. By itself, the hub is meaningless, but attaching many spokes to it makes it functional and helps you get where you're going. Some example of these spokes are books, podcasts, YouTube channels, Facebook groups, and other media channels.

Today, I'll also talk about the relationship between passion and commitment. Many people believe that you need to have passion first, and the commitment will come naturally. In fact, it's the other way around; commitment is the wood that you need to build the fire of passion. If this surprises you, you'll enjoy hearing more in this episode!

In This Episode:

[02:03] - Alex introduces the three key insights, critical to making you a highly skilled ethical influencer, you'll learn in this episode.

[02:53] - We hear a story about David Perdew, who runs NAMS.

[05:13] - In his own life, Alex has over eighty people who will say yes to him without him even making the request. This is because they know I would never risk our relationship on something where they wouldn't get the better end of the deal.

[06:12] - One person not in the list is Alex's mother, he points out, and explains that sometimes you can't get that level of relationship capital with the people you're closest to.

[07:10] - Alex talks about an offer he and David made, which involved meeting them in a room after that segment in the seminar.

[08:32] - Alex relates what he has been saying to David to you as a listener. You, too, can create a situation like this and build powerful relationship capital.

[10:10] - People buy because they know, like, and trust you, Alex points out.

[11:22] - You are your message, Alex explains. The message isn't a book, email, or membership site. Your podcast isn't even the message. You are the message.

[13:49] - Alex takes us back to his story about David Perdew, and explains that he allowed his students to create the offer they wanted.

[14:27] - People support what they helped to create. Alex ties this into some topics he's brought up in previous episodes of this podcast.

[15:44] - Alex explains that passion doesn't produce comment. Rather, commitment produces passion.

[16:55] - Transparency is the ultimate trust lubricant, Alex points out, referring back to a previous episode.

[17:46] - Alex sums up his point and advice by pointing out that being vulnerable first is a lot better than skydiving without a parachute.

[18:17] - Alex offers a quick review of the specific insights that he has explored in this episode.

[19:32] - Speaking of reviews, Alex asks a quick favor: could you go to this link, leave a review with your most valuable takeaway from the episode, and rate the show? Thank you!

[20:32] - Alex offers listeners a final gift: a free copy of his book Alexisms! To learn how to get your free book, tune into the episode.

Links and Resources:

• Alex Mandossian
• MarketingOnline.com
• Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!
• Alexisms by Alex Mandossian
• All Selling Aside on iTunes
• David Perdew
• NAMS
• Harvey Mackay
• Dr. Ivan Misner
• Jack Canfield
• Lisa Nichols
• Ray Stevens
• Roy H. Williams
• Harv Eker
• Nasreddin Hodja

Consider this story: in the 13th century, there was a Turkish trader who would go to the border with the Orient. When the border guards asked what he was smuggling, he'd shrug and point at his donkey. The border patrol burned the hay in the donkey's cart and search the donkey closely to figure out what he was smuggling. When they found nothing, they let him pass. Later, he returned empty-handed, without a donkey. The next day, the same thing happened. Over the course of 30 years, he became a wealthy trader. After this time, the retiring chief of the border patrol asked the trader what he was smuggling and swore not to punish him. Only then did he admit to smuggling... donkeys.

Do you see what he did there? He was so transparent, and did his smuggling in such plain view, that everyone was too busy looking deeper to see what he was actually doing. When we tie this back to today's three insights, you'll see that the trader was also designing his offer first, before focusing on being as transparent as possible.

When you think of seeding, imagine an apple. The seeds are inside the fruit when it falls to the ground. The seeds then take root, grow into new trunks, branch out, and produce new fruit. Because the seeds are in the middle of the fruit (which is the offer, in this metaphor), you can see why it's so important to design the offer first so that it contains the seeds.

One specific way you can seed is by using your module names as seeds within your speech, pitch, or presentation. For example, you might have a module called "Quick and Easy Ways to Learn Wordpress." As part of your presentation, you might say, "We'll be talking about some quick and easy ways to learn Wordpress even if you're a tech dummy." Notice how this line incorporates the exact language of the module without sounding unnatural.

Tune in to learn more about all of these points, and ways you can apply them to your own skills in selling through storytelling!

In This Episode:

[01:59] - Alex introduces the three key insights that you'll learn all about in today's episode.

[02:50] - To get things going, Alex shares the story of Nasreddin Hodja, a Turkish peasant who rode around on a donkey telling stories in the 13th century.

[06:43] - Alex relates the moral of the story he has just told to one of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which involves beginning with your offer.

[07:43] - When Alex is about to enroll someone, he explains that his intention is to do everything in his power to inspire and influence that person to say "yes" to what he is offering. He explains how well this has worked out for him.

[08:50] - Alex describes a question that he asks people who take part in one of his intensive programs, and uses this question to demonstrate what seeding is.

[10:09] - "The shortest distance between two points is not a straight line … is the path of least resistance," Alex points out.

[11:05] - Alex shares a lesson he learned from his friend Lisa Sasevich, and describes the importance of letting your students know what the ascension path is.

[13:52] - We learn why it's so important to have language consistency throughout your offer, instead of using synonyms.

[14:42] - Alex shares the WSGAT technique from Bob Circosta, and explains that you're often not actually selling the item you think you're selling.

[16:38] - A specific way you can seed is by using the names of your modules as you talk, Alex explains. He also discusses the difference between pimping someone into a sale and pampering them into a sale.

[18:04] - You've been selling all your life, Alex explains, and gives some examples of instances in which you probably tried trial closes when you were a kid.

[18:30] - Alex returns to the Hodja story he shared earlier and points out that the shortest distance to two points is the path of least resistance.

[18:52] - Alex offers a quick review of the specific insights he has explored in this episode, discussing transparency, beginning with the end in mind, and seeding as being like breadcrumb navigation.

[19:54] - Speaking of reviews, Alex asks listeners to head to this link to leave a comment and rate the show.

[21:00] - Alex offers listeners a gift in honor of the second episode of the podcast: a free copy of his books Alexisms! Tune into the episode to learn how to get yours.

Links and Resources:

• Alex Mandossian
• MarketingOnline.com
• Skipio - where mass business texting gets personal!
• Alexisms by Alex Mandossian
• All Selling Aside on iTunes
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Lisa Sasevich
• WSGAT
• Bob Circosta
• Tested Sentences That Sell by Elmer Wheeler