Say It Simply

Do you want business growth to be easier and less stressful? Would you enjoy smoother conversion from prospect to client? What if you had a tool that demonstrates your expertise, enhances your visibility, sets you apart from others in your field, evokes invitations to speak, and reduces the pressure of marketing? That tool is your Signature Book. Your Signature Book is your imprint on humanity. Your Signature Book will: • Elevate your feeling of personal accomplishment and satisfaction • Enhance your confidence in your product, your service, and your Self • Anchor your credibility as an expert • Turn prospects to clients • Establish your wisdom, your philosophy, and your legacy To accomplish that requires a handful of essential elements, the “Easy Steps” that I will outline in the chapters ahead. The foundational element is a main point or overarching principle that is clear, concise, and compelling. The power of language is not so much in what we say as in how we say it. Eric T. Wagner, Founder and CEO of Mighty Wise Academy: A Virtual Academy for Entrepreneurship and contributing advisor for www.Forbes.com, says, “failure to communicate value propositions in clear, concise and compelling fashion” is one of the top five reasons 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start a business fail within 18 months. My purpose with this book is to improve the odds for solopreneurs. Aside from delivering a quality product or service, two key elements for entrepreneurial success are visibility and credibility. No matter how good you are at what you do, no matter how much you know, no matter how much better your widget is than all the other widgets, if people don’t see you, they can’t buy from you. But visibility isn’t enough. Assuming you are seen, what makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd as the go-to expert in your field? This is the crux of marketing: to attract attention and create interest for the purpose of selling a product or service. Small business owners (and big business owners, for that matter) attempt this in a multitude of ways: elevator pitches, leveraging the community, collaborating, networking, asking for referrals, building relationships, offering coupons. Problem is, everyone else is doing that too—which means no one stands out as unique. Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles and creator of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, says that being published increases your visibility and credibility. How does having a Signature Book make business easier? Look at it from the standpoint of the business prospect. Imagine that you are in the market for the services of a professional organizer. You walk into a networking event, filled with entrepreneurs, two of whom are professional organizers. Each has a business card, a website, and some expertise about organizing personal and business space. One of them has published a book on how to calm your chaos by organizing your space, detailing the ins and outs of organizing, offering tools, processes, and examples. She holds the book in her hand. Which person are you inclined to approach? In a network setting, a book in the hand invites easy conversation. It takes the pressure off clumsy introductions and settles the jitters about what to say. As a common focus, it establishes an immediate and natural bond of attention. Next, you discover that both organizers offer workshops. You are ripe for that kind of learning environment and eager to attend. Whose workshop will you choose? The book offers instant credibility, conveying an image of orderly thinking, expertise, and educational prowess. After all, in order to write a book on the topic, the author must know her stuff—right? Your Signature Book graciously opens the door to potential clients and invites them to easily engage with you. Simple, classy hospitality. That’s great for writers, you say, but what about us “nonwriters”? For that I have two responses: First: baloney. Everything you do centers around communication, and you write every day. You send e-mails, you text, you write an ad, you make a list, you design a process, you make a flyer, you host a blog, you take copious notes. You do all this so that you can convey a message, tell a story, elicit a response, produce a result. Second: Even if you consider yourself a nonwriter, you are an expert in your field. You are graced with characteristics that make you unique. You have your own style of speaking, behaving, believing, and engaging with others. Your business purpose, your mission, and your vision are based on core values specific to you. To create the book that is your signature business tool, you need only a formula and a competent editor. Say It Simply outlines the formula consisting of 8 Easy Steps to evoke reader response.