Chris Taylor is the CEO at Actionable.co. He helps leadership consultants prove and amplify the impact of their programs.
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Guest Resources
Chris Taylor LinkedIn – Connect with Chris on LinkedIn.
Actionable – Prove your training pays off.
3 Value Bombs
1) Persistency compounds and this is how you get your wins.If you are persistent and able to move fast, you can be the brand or be the leader in that brand.
2) If your clients have a pain that is real enough, they’re going to have a budget to address that pain, its not necessarily manifesting money out of thin air, its about figuring out how they’re currently going about solving that problem or the cost of inaction for them, thereby aligning to their specific pain.
3) You don’t need to re-invent everything, you just need to add the unique layer because reinventing will cost you too much time and money.
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HubSpot: Get ready for growth, without the growing pains! Visit HubSpot.com/spotlight to see the dozens of major product updates that’ll make impossible growth feel impossibly easy!
Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: How to Thrive as a Category of 1
[1:14] – Chris shares something that he believes about becoming successful that most people disagree with.
- He use to believe that to be successful, you need to have some special angle or insight that is so radical in order to break through the noise but what he found through his experience and through the successful people around him is you need to have a sound, simple business model and persistence to be successful. Persistency compounds and this is how you get your wins.
[2:28] – Chris talks about the pros and cons of NOT having direct competitors.
- Without competition you feel bulletproof, but the challenge of not having competitors is not having a stacking horse who’s going to be your model and take what are the best from and sprinkle your own flavor.
- The advantage is if you move fast enough , you get to associate your brand with the category and if you are persistent and able to move fast, you can be the brand or be the leader in that brand.
[4:10] – Chris talks about how to get clients to buy something for the first time.
- If you are creating a new category, your clients don’t have a line item for that. You are not replacing an incumbent provider but is asking them to consider the value of investing to something that is new and which is daunting and overwhelming.
- But just like any other business, it is about aligning to a specific pain. If your clients have a pain and its real enough, they’re going to have a budget to address that pain, its not necessarily manifesting money out of thin air, its about figuring out how they’re currently going about solving that problem or the cost of inaction for them.
- Because it’s a new category, you need to focus on de-risking the solution because there is no track record. You can de-risk it by building enough proof points and case studies of those clients and they will evangelize for you.
[6:19] – Chris tells how to get human’s attention to market something new.
- Consistency compounds. They might not see you the first time you market yourself but keep evangelizing your great content that is anchored to their pain and the momentum will build.
- Marketing something new and getting people’s attention starts from a place of are you willing to commit to it for the long game. You are spending years solving the pain not only because of the money.
- From a tactical standpoint, you need to stay laser focused on the pain you are solving and not on the features that you include to solve it. As entrepreneurs, we are excited into our own stuff but our clients are not.
[9:09] – A timeout to thank our sponsor!
- HubSpot: Get ready for growth, without the growing pains! Visit HubSpot.com/spotlight to see the dozens of major product updates that’ll make impossible growth feel impossibly easy!
[12:44] – Chris talks about the pitfalls he experience and how to avoid it.
- In their attempt to launch the Category of 1 they tried to be special and smart across all the things and try to re-invent every aspect of the business and it was such a mistake.
- What they did was to figure out the 5% that can have the “special sauce” on and build on the 95% that came before them. You don’t need to re-invent everything, you just need to add the unique layer because reinventing will cost you too much time and money and another reason is you will make it hard for your potential clients to anchor to what’s already known.
[16:00] – Chris answers what he will do if he had a magic genie lamp that granted him the option to start over and do it all again.
- It will depend on his goals and if the cause is important to him, he will do it all again. There is a big haul in building a Category 1 and he recommended some books to read if you are going down that path. You have to believe that you can fix something, otherwise you are going to run out of money, patience and energy before you realize the outcome.
[16:35] – Chris gives his final take away.
- The creation of value comes from less of talking and more of listening. The way you define pain, the way you find the 5% , the way you identify the fastest path to the sale is going to come from better questions that it is from you shouting from the rooftops. It is between sharing your enthusiasm and digging through the questions to understand the true pain you are solving from.
[17:25] – Call to action.
- Chris Taylor LinkedIn – Connect with Chris on LinkedIn.
- Actionable – Prove your training pays off.
[17:30] – Thank you to our Sponsor!
- HubSpot: Get ready for growth, without the growing pains! Visit HubSpot.com/spotlight to see the dozens of major product updates that’ll make impossible growth feel impossibly easy!
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
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