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selling

What am I selling: me or my book?

In the 90s, training videos, like John Cleese’s Meetings Bloody Meetings, were popular. They provided a novel alternative to corporate classroom learning.

This week, I thought of a video that Jim Hensen, of Muppets fame, had created called Sell Sell Sell. It was more expensive than other videos and was short, but it was entertaining and the message was clear: you must sell. 

I am now the head of sales for Change with Confidence.  This is a welcomed move because I have held sales roles before and led many sales training courses. I communicate the benefits of my product, supported by its features, to people who value my book and services. 

It’s important to know what you are selling. Are my customers buying my book or me? I think it’s both; they are buying my credibility as a change leader and my book that captures my experience and knowledge. Therefore, I need to build awareness of both. I will not be successful if either of them are invisible.

One way I’m building awareness is with “how to” videos. Lucas, Marketing Manager and great supporter at Wiley, provided me with an excellent opportunity to create a promotional video. I decided to answer the following questions:

  • How can leaders help team leaders deal with change?
  • How you can help leaders lead change?
  • What is the first thing leaders need to do when leading a big change?
  • How can people make the best of change?
  • What are the universal truths of change?
  • Why is confidence so important when leading change?

Sebastian Cluer

The video shoot took about ninety minutes to complete. The director, Sebastian Cluer, was relaxed and supportive, which made my many retakes seem part of the process versus messing up. I would have been nervous if I had known that he is an award winning film and television director. Don’t you find that the most talented professionals are humble? I don’t think I will make it onto his highlight reel, but I know he will create a great piece of work.

The video will be posted on the Wiley website, the Change with Confidence website, Youtube, LinkedIn and my National Speakers Bureau profile page. The more places I can profile me and my book, the more successful I will be.

Phil

101 Reasons to Publish My Book!


I have enjoyed switching gears to the book proposal writing phase. It’s familiar territory (how many proposals have we written in our careers?) and doing research again is fun. I even went to a public library and signed out two books on winning proposals! 

Writing a proposal is like making a cake: each ingredient must be added in the right amount and in the right order for it to create something special. Experimentation is risky. 

Most advice contains the same sections and a lot of the same tips:

  • Overview – What is your premise and how does it satisfy a need?
  • Markets – Who will buy your book?
  • Competition – What books are similar to yours and why is yours different?
  • Author – Why are you the best author for this book?
  • Promotion –  What can you do to help sell your book?
  • Table of Contents
  • Sample Chapters
In the past, I would create a proposal framework and then fill it the sections sequentially, building the narrative. This time,  I dove into writing a draft as I was researching. This was a mistake because it missed the big picture and was less organized. After a day of “free-wheeling” I went back to a more structured and effective approach.

One hundred and one reasons for becoming my publisher is a stretch, especially since my goal is to convince one that my book will sell enough copies to make a profit. All other reasons are icing on the cake. 

Phil

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    When impressing leaders, what is the 1 action you would take to get 80% results in 20% of the time? Here’s mine: bit.ly/3CHq0Ho. The podcast episode with key opinion leader @RobbyNap is on Sounder bit.ly/3iKl2js. #change #changemanagement #leadership #podcasts pic.twitter.com/wUxLfW3w0M

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