One important thing that high-level producers figure out is how to market effectively through positioning.
They put themselves in a position where their community looks to them for answers, guidance and leadership.
The results of building your business based on leadership are unparalleled, but it takes more than meets the eye to build the kind of loyal following that puts you into the spotlight.
If you are reading this publication, I already believe you have the capability of being a leader.
The question is whether you’re living up to that potential or not, and whether you’re using your leadership to influence people in a positive direction while building your business.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, trustworthy leadership seems to be a fleeting commodity. People are starving for leadership, but so many people have been taken for a ride and misled.
...now they are cautious and don’t know where to turn.
This uncertain state of most communities means there is a huge opportunity for value creation, leadership, and influence—if you’re willing to step up.
Ask yourself these questions:
Have you taken a stand and given people a message to believe in, or are you staying hidden in the trenches?
In your community, are you being the leader that people want to follow or just someone standing at the front of the room babbling and boasting?
Have you shied away from leading due to the fear that you might not have it all figured out or that you may make a mistake along the way?
If your answers don’t sound like leadership, it may be time to rethink why you do what you do and take some new action.
Leadership, and the influence that comes from it, has the ability to take your business and community to new heights or run it into the ground.
So, ask yourself, if you don’t choose to lead your community, who is going to, and what are their intentions?
Leadership Follows Consistency, Marketing, Trust and More Marketing
A leader must draw a line in the sand, take a position and stick to it. This is your message to the world, and your actions must consistently match your words and stated objective.
When you’ve done that, you can start marketing.
Marketing is the ability to communicate your message in an influential manner. It moves people to action and gets them to think and act in a predetermined way.
You can do this by writing a book, speaking at live events, group coffee-meetups, organizing industry gatherings, hosting webinars and more.
As you continue to market your message, and be seen as a leader, you will slowly begin to build trust.
Trust is built one brick at a time and comes from staying congruent to your stated objective. If your actions are consistently aligned with your words, trust will grow.
More trust leads to more influence, and it becomes ever easier to move people into action. Then, the more action they take, the more they’ll see that good things happen when they follow your lead. This is the key.
As far as I know, there is no better marketing than real people getting real results and passionately sharing those experiences with others that they influence.
It’s Time for You to Lead
Leadership based marketing is the hallmark of high-level producers, but they begin practicing it long before they’re in the spotlight—and you can too.
It takes work, and will inevitably force you to get out of your comfort zone, but it also creates something no amount of money can buy—a loyal following.
If you’re going to build your business based on something, I can’t think of anything better than building trust, strong leadership, and a track record that inspires a loyal following.
Here Are a Few Exercises to Help you Begin Practicing Leadership:
Write down your “line in the sand.” What do you believe in that differentiates you from others in your field?
List at least 3 ways you can use marketing to build your leadership position.
List 3 more ways you can utilize your newfound leadership to grow your business.
