It’s A Wonderful Lie!

Once there was a pastor in the American South who delivered a great sermon. Afterward, his congregation congratulated him on how great it was. The next week, he delivered the exact same sermon again. He did the exact same thing the following few weeks. Finally, one of the trustees of the church pointed out to the pastor that he had given the same sermon over and over for several weeks. The pastor revealed that he had been giving the same sermon intentionally. A crowd gathered to listen to his explanation: “I’ll stop giving that sermon the moment that the people in our congregation start living it.” The most common question that I’ve been asked at any of the hundreds of live events or thousands of virtual events that I’ve spoken at is this: “What business should I start?” However, business ideas don’t make money. What does make money is having something that you’re committed to that you build and grow over time. This is why what business you should start isn’t the first question you should ask yourself. Instead, try, “Who knows me?” If you’ve tuned in before, you know I’ve already talked about the VCP process (and that’s why I shared the story of the preacher and his sermon). When you’re moving from V to P, you can’t skip the C (credibility). This is why who you know is less important than who knows you. Who you know doesn’t guarantee profitability, but who knows (and trusts) you in business is the key. Once you understand this, you understand the first two of today’s three key insights into becoming a highly skilled ethical influencer. The third is this: “first who, then what” is the safety net under the tightwire of any business startup. Tune into this episode to gain a deeper understanding of all of this, so you can learn to take your business into profitability.   In This Episode: [03:21] - Welcome to today’s episode of All Selling Aside! Alex mentions the three key insights into becoming a highly skilled ethical influencer that he’ll cover in this episode. [05:15] - We hear a story about a pastor giving the same sermon over and over. [07:44] - Alex is drawn to the new, the unique, and the innovative, he explains, but points out the benefits of the old too. [09:21] - Since 1995, Alex has talked to over 800,000 entrepreneurs who wanted to start a digital marketing business. He talks about the most common question that he’s heard throughout those events. [11:56] - Alex explains why the first question you ask yourself shouldn’t be what business you should start. [15:49] - We hear about a question you should be asking yourself to help ensure profitability in your business. [17:18] - How much uninterrupted time do you spend each week growing your business network? [18:54] - Alex recaps some of the right (and wrong) questions to ask yourself when building your business and network. [19:18] - The fastest, easiest, most reliable way to speed up the process is to join a mastermind, Alex points out. [21:32] - Today’s Alexism is this: “Effective ‘social influencers’ are like the wind: you can’t see them, but you notice their presence.” He explains how this relates to what he has been talking about through this episode. [24:04] - Alex quickly reviews and recaps the points that he has made today, including the three key insights he has covered. [26:06] - Now that Alex has given you a review of his points, will you take a moment to give him a review too? Head to this link and write down your biggest takeaway from this specific episode as your review of the podcast. [27:58] - In honor of today’s episode, Alex has a final gift for listeners. Go to this link to get completely free access to his four-part video e-training course (which normally costs $197).   Links and Resources: Alex Mandossian Alex Mandossian Fan on Facebook Alex’s Friday Live events MarketingOnline.com Marketing Online 4-Part Video Training Series Alex Mandossian on YouTube Alexisms by Alex Mandossian All Selling Aside on iTunes Alex Mandossian’s free live Friday show Ivan Misner BNI Good to Great by Jim Collins The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy