Strategic Thinking

Develop A Powerful Personal Brand With These 3 Secrets

February 14, 2020 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

To develop a powerful personal brand can be a daunting task, as many entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle with developing a brand for themselves. But branding is not only for companies, it defines who you are. Like everything else, your personal brand is unique.

What is a personal brand and why is it important?

A personal brand is a perception in someone’s mind. As I said earlier, when someone calls out your name, what would be their response? The truth is, you can determine what you want people to think and say about you.

Developing a brand is about taking control of your image, and that reflects who you are in many aspects. When someone calls out your name, it should give them an honest impression of your talents, values, and beliefs.

Developing a powerful personal brand is crucial for entrepreneurs and small business owners. In fact, it’s important for everyone. Because our personal brand will not only boost our business – it helps drive them to success.

For example, what makes you different? What are you known for? This means, what are your values? Are your values aligned with your mission and beliefs? And what kind of impression do you want to leave behind for the world?

You are your brand, no matter what your current job is. Click To Tweet

Branding is like a mental game. It acts as a magnet that pulls the matching pair together. So, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must develop a powerful personal brand.

If you don’t develop a powerful personal brand, it makes you no different than others in regards to your profession.

The more you present yourself to the world, the higher your brand gains its credibility and recognition. So how do you develop a powerful personal brand? In this article, I will share 3 of my secrets to develop a powerful personal brand.

1. Brand Around Your Talents, Values, And Beliefs.

People like to know the story around why you did it and what makes you do it. It can be because of a certain talent you have or a strong belief of a product that you’ve created. Either way, people are drawn into a combination of vulnerability and enthusiasm. Your beliefs are what drives your core values.

Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style. – Kobe Bryant

When I say value, it isn’t based upon your position at your company. Rather it’s based on what you can bring to the marketplace. What is the unique talent that you do exceptionally well that others can’t? When you establish your own target audience in your niche market. You’ll be able to develop a unique talent around your niche. So, why do you have to do this?

Because with your own target audience, it helps you narrow down your potential customers. Clients won’t just walk up to your doorstep. You need to put yourself out there and when you understand your audiences, it is easier to create value based on their problems.

But before you do that, ask yourself these questions. This is where you begin.

Am I perceived as I want to be?
How strong is my reputation in my industry?
What does my brand reflect most on my personality? My ability?
What makes me unique?
Does my website/blog reflect my brand?
Does my social media channel reflect my brand?

Asking yourself these questions is where you begin developing a powerful personal brand. Choose what you want to be known for and focus on being the best at it. If you’re looking to be a successful entrepreneur, being the best at what you do sets you apart from your competition.

2. Develop A Powerful Signature Style

As I said in the beginning, branding is like a mental game. It’s like a magnet that pulls a matching pair together. So, when you develop a powerful personal brand, you need to stand out. Because being average makes you similar to everyone else and this is where you take control in developing what people think and say about you.

When you think about a signature style, it can be varied. It can either make or break a personal brand. So, be careful when you decide on your style. If you can develop this well, it can be powerful and make you instantly recognizable. Think about your favorite brands. What makes them unique? This is crucial to know because your brand allows self-expression through your personality to the marketplace.

You can visualize your style with these guides. But remember to be consistent with your style.

Logos
Trademarks
Signs
Core visual elements
How you dress

Think of it this way, if you have a different color logo on your signs and your blog. People will find it hard to understand what you do. So, being consistent with your style is a surefire to success.

Apart from that, develop your unique dress code. As I said earlier, you are in control of what people think and say about you. You want people to remember you for the right reasons. My mentees associate me with my red suit and my Bentley. Steve Jobs always dressed exactly the same and Obama only wears either a blue or a gray suit.

My point here is, these may be their signature style. But when you call out their names, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Steve Jobs – Apple products. Dan Lok – Red suit and Bentley. On top of that, a powerful personal brand gives you an advantage in your professional and personal life.

3. Create An Impression With An Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch allows you to earn someone’s conversation. It is never an opportunity to close a deal. However, it’s an opportunity to get people’s attention. It acts as a quick introduction and with a short, snappy explanation, it explains how you can help your customers.

So, where and when should you use your elevator pitch? You can leave an impression with an elevator pitch during a networking event, warm calls or conferences. You also use an elevator pitch with job interviews. Especially when someone asks you this question, “Tell me about yourself” or “What do you do?”

Instead of convincing someone to hire you, earn 30 seconds of conversation. Click To Tweet

A compelling short stunning elevator pitch will uplift your value. Which means, people will instantly remember who you are. But never forget that when people who listen to your pitch, the first thing they think about is “Does that bring me value?” or “What’s in it for me?” Therefore, when you develop a powerful personal brand, it’s crucial to understand your audiences.

For example, at a networking event. Someone prompts an attention-grabbing question saying, “Isn’t it a daunting task to develop a personal brand for yourself?” And you answer, “ Yes, but you know what will make it less daunting? The founder of my company constantly creates educational content. They created a video training that cost less than a cup of coffee a day. And if you spend 30 days on coffee, you could discover the secrets to develop a powerful personal brand without feeling daunting.”

Or if someone asks, what do you do?. You can say, “I help companies scale their business by exponentially increasing their conversion rates.” While different types of questions have different impressions, it should also be memorable and punchy.

What Should You Be Doing To Maintain Your Personal Branding?

Now that you’ve developed a powerful personal brand. What should you be doing to maintain your brand? Yes, it’s time to gain visibility. This is where you’re letting your audience know you exist.

To gain visibility requires multiple processes. For example, creating a well-strategized plan across your social media platform. In order to establish a strong foundation, you need to be active in a couple of things.

Here’s how you can market your brand through different channels.

Client Referrals
Direct Mail
Networking
Joint ventures
Seminars
Public Relations
Warm Calling (if you have a product or service)
Internet (Social media platforms)

Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of platforms. To begin with, you can start with one. Decide which is your best channel according to your target audience. Now, let me give you an idea of what I do to promote and maintain my personal brand.

Here’s what I do to maintain my personal brand. And this is strictly on personal branding.

Give one interview per week. 52 interviews a year which includes TV, Radio, Podcast or print.
Conduct one interview per week with successful entrepreneurs.
Create and upload 200+ videos per year on YouTube.
Publish at least one new book per year.
Give away a minimum of 3,000 books a year.
Deliver at least 20 presentation or speeches a year.

Ensuring your brand is personalized, creates compelling and convincing content. Write valuable and educational content to your audience. You need to put value to the marketplace. Why? Because your brand and value is a self-expression through your personality. So, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, position yourself by being the best at what you do.

Why Entrepreneurs Fail At Developing A Personal Brand

As I said in the beginning, many entrepreneurs struggle to develop a powerful personal brand. So, whether it’s personal or business life, it defines who you are. In order to be successful in any business, having a powerful brand is crucial because branding elevates your success exponentially.

Developing a powerful personal brand right is crucial for success. Click To Tweet

Of course, it’s not an overnight success. You can’t get the world to know who you are in a day. But if you’re consistent, it’s a surefire to success. It takes time and effort to understand and learn how to develop a powerful personal brand effectively.

Here’s why entrepreneurs fail at developing a personal brand.

They Don’t Fully Believe In Themselves.

If you don’t believe in yourself, certainly, nobody will. If you want to develop a powerful personal brand, you must be clear and certain about who you are and what you can offer to the marketplace. Again, your value is on what you can bring to the marketplace. But keep this in mind, there’s a difference between confidence and arrogance. If you set yourself with confidence, you’ll overcome hurdles with grace.

No Strategy

Everything you do reflects on your brand. Therefore, having a good strategy is important in every area of business. If you want to stand out and be remembered. You need to put in the extra effort as it won’t magically appear for you. Think and plan out a couple of strategies before you execute. But don’t be afraid to fail. I failed in 13 businesses before i became a self-made millionaire.

How you do anything is how you do everything – Dan Lok

Unsure What Is Personal Branding

Don’t get confused between professional and personal branding, because they are very different. Personal brand is a perception in someone’s mind. It is how people perceive you would be. Remember the first question you ask yourself? Am I perceived as I want to be? Talking to people and asking for honest opinions is the best way to do this.

They’re Inconsistent With Their Content On Social Media

Have a narrow focus on your topics with your social media channels. When you’re consistent, it’s easier to recognize a voice. To ensure a powerful brand is achieved, you have to demonstrate consistency across your communication.

Never Leverage On Social Media Platforms

In 2018, an estimate of 1.8 billion people worldwide purchased goods online. And during the same year, global e-retail sales amounted to 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars. It’s projected to grow up to 4.8 trillion U.S. dollars by 2021. So, can you imagine the number of people purchasing a product through social media platforms? It’s significantly high. So, leveraging social media might be the key to your success.

Not Investing In Themselves To Learn

I’ve seen many entrepreneurs make plenty of excuses. Such as, I’m too old to expose myself in social media. I’m not young enough to learn new things anymore. Well, let me tell you this. If you want to develop a powerful personal brand, you need to have a shift in mindset. The process of gradually developing into the person you wish to be is crucial. When you get constructive criticism, you can use that to grow. Regardless of how long it takes, your brand will grow much more quickly.

If you want to grow your business, investing in yourself to learn new technology is essential. Unless you have the confidence to learn through my free 200+ video content. Engaging a mentor and gaining their secrets will bring you success quicker.

Want To Develop A Powerful Personal Brand?

Making a name for yourself can be tough and frustrating. As I said in the beginning, it can be a daunting task. It requires time, effort and consistency. When you see other leaders making a name for themselves, you wonder, how did they have it all figured out? When you want to develop a powerful personal brand, you have to understand the most important aspect, which is trust.

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. – Seth Godin

Whether it’s for personal or business. If they aren’t any trust, you’re not likely to achieve a personal brand for yourself. That’s why I told my team to prepare a special training video that consists of my secrets. Discover the secrets of my personal branding here.

Back in my early days, when I was in high school, I was the invisible kid. No one wanted to talk to me and people didn’t think I could succeed in business. But now that I’m a business magnate, Internet celebrity and global educator with students and fans around the world, people want to know how I developed such a reputation.

In today’s world of technology, opportunities for growth are more than before. So, to develop a powerful personal brand, be sure to stay focused and the brand stays with you.

A personal brand is nothing more than your personal reputation. If you want to create a powerful reputation for yourself, create a compelling elevator pitch and develop the perception you want your audience to think and say about you. That drives your core values with the beliefs you have.

And, if you’re a serious influencer, entrepreneur, and expert earning over $300,000 in revenue and want to take your business to the next level, read below. If you are an influencer and entrepreneur who wants to:

Scale their business to 7-figures and beyond using social media.
Generate a predictable and sustainable return on investment every month.
Build a 7-figure business that runs with or without them.

High-Ticket Influencer is the answer.

5 Crucial Things To Look For Before You Invest In Startups

February 3, 2020 by Dan Lok

Are you looking to invest in startups but you aren’t sure what to look for? How do you determine if a startup is a good investment idea? How do you know it’s the right thing for you?

When you want to invest in startups there are plenty to choose from. Almost all startups need money. That’s why it looks like a promising investment sector too many.

It seems so easy, find a startup. Invest your money. Watch them grow and multiply your money. But, in reality, it isn’t quite that easy.

Not every startup will be the next Uber. Not every startup succeeds and grows rapidly. Often it’s hard to tell if their product and offer are any good.

That’s a problem because if you are investing in a startup you want to make sure it pays off. You want to get returns on your investment sooner or later. Investing in the wrong startup can be a risk.

And there are also other factors you have to consider before you put your money into anything. So before you go ahead and invests your money into a startup, check for these 5 crucial things first.

1. Is There A Hungry Market for Their Product?

Before you invest in startups you want to make sure there is an actual market for their product or service.

Let’s imagine you can choose between startups. One has an advantage in capital, on has the best product or service, another one has the best team. Or maybe they have the perfect timing or the latest technology. Which one would you choose?

If I would invest in a startup I would always choose one thing: A hungry market. I would choose that every. single. time. Click To Tweet

Their product or service might change, but a hungry market will always buy from them.

So many startups fail because they focus so much on their product or service. But they completely forget about their customers. They focus more on their own needs than on the needs of the marketplace.

They put all this effort into building the perfect product…that nobody wants. Instead of their product, look at their offer. What is the irresistible offer that they bring to the marketplace?

An offer contains their product plus the value. If the perceived value is high enough people will want to by. You can imagine the offer almost like a bait. Like if you go fishing, you want to choose the right bait. So the fish would actually bite. Using a stone as a bait won’t do you any good. You have to understand what they want.

Why Is The Market So Important?

So many startups make one mistake. They offer what they think the market wants. Instead of finding out what the market actually wants.

You only want to invest in startups that actually have an irresistible offer of some kind. It should be more than a crazy idea in their mind.

Save yourself from investing in startups that spend years on things that nobody wants to buy. As sad as it is, that happens too often. 8 out of 10 businesses fail after 20 years. Half a million businesses are created every month. 30% of those go out of business within two years.

What to Look for in a Market?

You also want to check how big the market is before you invest in startups.

Is it a very local market only in the direct neighborhood? Or is the market the whole world?

Don’t get me wrong the market doesn’t have to be huge for them to be successful. But it has to be some good size so they can expand later. Simply put, is the market big enough so their offer is scalable? What are the chances of this offer getting bought now and also in the future?

And finally, when it comes to invest in startups, there is one more thing about the market. How saturated is it? Are they targeting an existing market with lots of competition? Or a completely new one?

What if their chosen market is very competitive? Do they have a defining factor that makes them different? How is their solution different from existing ones and is there a market that needs that? There is also the question of how powerful their competition is.

I once had a guy tell me he wants to start a coffee company and compete with Starbucks. How can a small startup compete with a huge chain?

Of course, the founders are very passionate about their ideas. But you have to stay cool and check if their business actually makes sense.

What to do if you invest in startups that market to a completely new market? You have to make very educated guesses if it is possible. Will the market be big enough? Is the crowd hungry for this?

2. Do They Have Some Money Already?

When you invest in startups, you don’t want them to fully rely on only your money.

If they can only start out because of your investment, that’s actually very dangerous. If they need your money so urgently, the founders aren’t entrepreneurs yet.

Making money from business takes time and effort. If they expect to find one single investor (you) and suddenly make all the money…they don’t understand what it means to have a business.

Building up a successful business needs time, effort and money. You don’t create a startup because you want to work less and hate your job. If you do that, your business will fail.

That’s why I advise all my students to take care of their cash flow needs first. First, they need a stable income. Only then they should even think about becoming an entrepreneur.

So, if you want to invest in startups what out. Pick those that have a great work ethic and are resourceful enough to generate money – before they are looking for investors.

There is nothing wrong with looking for investors, but it can’t be their income stream.

How resourceful are they?

Their resourcefulness to getting money shows you what they are willing to do in order to succeed. Do they tilt because an idea didn’t work? Or are they looking for solutions and create results?

Believe it or not, there are startup founders that only want to put their money in after the startup has reached in size. They don’t have any skin in the game. Rather, they try to build their business and get wealthy by a miracle.

They have this idea and think it will make them rich. But a business without money is just an idea…it’s not even a startup.

So don’t get swooned owner by fancy looking business plan and market analysis. Those are great things to have but if there is no starting capital, how will they succeed?

I’m very careful about such things. You don’t want them to run off with your money. You want to invest in startups that are resourceful enough to have some money already. Your investment might help them to get more scale.

Being resourceful also means they don’t lose hope after hearing no several times. They have the stamina to go on because they know there is a demand for their product or service.

3. Are Their Team Members Complementing Each Other?

The next crucial thing you want to look for before you invest in a startup is their team.

Before the investment, you will likely get in contact with the founders of the startup. You will discuss the strategy, business plan and other things.

But I highly advise you to also have a look at their team. Who else is working on the startup? What skills do they bring to the table? And, likely most important, how do the founders lead their team?

Are their skills working together? Do the founders mentor the teammates? Do they really have successful chemistry?

All these are pointers to look out for. The team is an important metric to measure the success of a startup.

But, you only want to look at this, after you’ve checked the market! Again, the best team in the world won’t help, if there is no hungry market for the product.

If they have the market and a great team, those are good signs to invest in startups.

Some startups have quite small teams because they are saving on costs this way. But they absolutely need people in all the key positions, so the whole business can actually run.

What Does a Great Team Look Like?

Their team has to be able to execute. Too many founders try to get everything done themselves and give no trust to their team. Instead of delegating they work tons of hours to get everything done.

When really, all their team members should be experts in their field and get the job done themselves. They should also have some operating systems in place already. That shows they are serious about this business. Do the founders have the vision while the team is taking big parts in executing that vision?

Another very important thing: don’t invest in startups that don’t have an expert on their niche on their team. Let’s say the startup is a lead generation agency. But nobody on the team ever worked with lead generation. All they do is guessing how it works…How likely will that team succeed?

A well-built team should have the skills that the founders lack. They are balancing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. You don’t want to invest in a startup where all team members have the same skills. It means they have huge weaknesses too.

4. Did They Create Results Already?

This is another great point to look into before you invest in startups. Did they already get in contact with their market somehow?

Are the customers already engaging in with the product? Maybe there were some test runs and the testers are giving feedback. Or maybe the founders did a survey of what customers expect a certain product to do.

Looking at this shows you how serious the founders are. Do they just have ideas or are they willing to execute? Are they still working on the basic concept or are they already developing tangible results?

Are they committed to making this happen and work out for them? Or is it just an idea and if it doesn’t work they jump onto the next idea?

If you get in contact with them and they want to win you over as an investor,

watch out if they can present any real data. Does the data support their idea? These early calculations are a great proof of concept.

So what does a promising startup look like? They have a hungry market and some data collected already. If they have the data but the market is non-existent or too small you don’t want to put your money there.

When it comes to data, also make sure that their measuring is actually realistic. Some startups run into the trap of measuring too much. Or the use numbers too early. While data is important, it’s not the only factor that determines their success (and as a result the success of your investment).

How do Others React to their Idea?

A great way to see if the startup’s offer creates the desired results is this:

Show it to strangers on the street and see their reaction.

If they say “ok, yeah that’s good” then the idea actually isn’t good! You want them to go “wow this is great, where do I buy.”

If the offer can’t win over people, it won’t stand a chance in the marketplace.

4. Are You Actually Ready?

The final thing you want to consider before you invest in startups is a little bit different.

It’s less about the startup, the founders, the product or even the market…

It is about you. Are you actually ready to invest in startups?

To invest in startups might sound like a good idea but it’s only one investment type of many, many more. So, ask yourself why you want to invest in startups. Click To Tweet

Are you actually passionate about startups? Are you an expert on the field? Or did you just hear about other people who successfully invested in startups? Are you looking for a quick way to get rich?

The problem with that is that, if you suddenly jump into investments without knowing anything about it, you are taking huge risks.

You risk making a mistake and losing all your hard-earned money. I’m not saying investments are a bad thing…I’m saying investment without knowledge is not a very smart thing to do.

See, wealthy people, invest in what they understand. And they have their ways of checking and evaluating if an investment is a good idea.

If you don’t know how to successfully invest in startups – and only do it because it worked for others – reading a few blog posts about it won’t help you much. So what should you do?

How To Prepare Yourself for Any Investment

Before you invest in startups – or do any other investment really – you want to do a few things.

First, you can’t invest if your daily cash flow needs aren’t met. Meaning, if you don’t have enough money to pay your bills, you aren’t in a position to go out there and start investing. Raise your income first (have a look hat I teach about high-income skills).

Now you want to be in a position where you can invest at least a few hundred bucks. And lastly, really understand which investment type suits for you. What do you really like? Is it really startups? Or stocks, or real estate?

I personally love two types of investments. Investing in myself and real estate. Why? Because I understand it. I would never advise anyone to invest in something they don’t understand.

What if I told you there is a chance to learn the investment strategies of the rich?

My fans and students kept asking me about investments. When to do it, how to do it right and so on. Exactly for that reason, I’m offering a once in a lifetime event. What is it about? It’s called “Secrets Of The Rich” and it will take place from February 23rd to 24th.

The rich have these crazy strategies that give them stable returns – sometimes up to 24%. Those investments are low-risk and high-return. But you can’t find it in any book and it’s not taught at seminars. At least until now.

The event is really a once in a lifetime chance. It’s unlikely that it will ever be repeated. If you want to educate yourself on investing as the rich do, this is your chance.

Unfortunately, the event is now sold out. But I have a special offer for you. You can get lifestream access that comes with a full recording too. This way you can learn the investment strategies of the rich, even if you missed out on the seats.

Check out the details HERE.

5 Investment Strategies Wealthy People Use To Minimize Your Risk

January 22, 2020 by Dan Lok

Investment strategies are risky, right? It’s a common belief that all investments are risky, but maybe that’s only if you don’t understand what you’re investing in.

On the news, you hear about investors who lost all their money. On TV shows they show you the downfall of the successful CEO because he got greedy and invested too much.

But surprisingly, only people with a “poor” mindset believe that investments are always risky. What do I mean by a “poor” mindset? I’m referring to people whose thinking and belief systems are very limited. They see competition everywhere, and are afraid because their resources are limited.

Wealthy people, on the other hand, live in abundance. They know they have more than enough resources to make mistakes.

The thing is, once you reach a certain income, the whole investment world suddenly opens up to you.

Before, you weren’t able to invest. Why? Because you were focusing on making a living. Once you reach a certain income, you have more money than you need to live comfortably. That’s the money you use to invest.

You take that “extra money” and use it for investments. If you don’t have a lot of extra money, maybe you do need to be more careful about what you invest in.

I recommend you learn about investment strategies. Do so before you put a single dollar into something that you don’t understand.

Investment is in fact, risky, if you have no idea what you are doing. If you are new to investing, or you don’t understand what you’re investing in, it can be risky.

You hear that other people got a great return on their investment doing this or that. Immediately, you try to do the same. But how do you know that your source is credible? How can you shield yourself from investments that are too risky?

Rich and wealthy people have been doing this for some time. They know how to play the “investment game” – and what to avoid.

That’s why today, I want to go over 5 investment strategies wealthy people use to minimize risks.

Investment Strategy #1: Only Invest In What You Understand

Even in the investment sector, there are new fads and trends. Many people would hop on to those trends and try to make money fast.

There are so many people looking for the fastest way to get money. They get caught up in the newest gimmick…

On the news, they hear that people got rich with Bitcoin. They instantly try to do the same. Once that trend dies down, they will find the next one. But still, they lose a lot of money. It’s a very risky strategy.

I never ever invested in Bitcoin or any other trendy, gimmicky thing. Why?

Because I only invest in things I understand. That’s the foundation of my investment strategies.

Putting your money into something you have no clue about – that’s risky.

Even if it worked for others. To make it work for you, you have to understand it.

So, if you are completely new to the investment world, you might want to learn at least some basics.

Investing is a lot like playing a board game. If you don’t know the rules, you can’t play. And you most likely won’t win.

So rich people only invest in what they truly understand. Most wealthy people, they understand stocks or real estate investments.

I personally always prefer real estate, because I can control parts of it. I know the rules of the real estate investing game. That allows me to predict and avoid most risks.

Why You Should Invest in Stocks or Real Estate

Stocks and real estate seem to be the favorites of most wealthy people. Why is that?

Because they produce a high-return. If you invest in something, you want it to be worth it. That’s why high-return investments are best.

So, while a person with a “poor” mentality would invest in whatever they get their hands on, wealthy people invest in what they truly understand. They are immune to trends because they are patient.

The rich don’t care about the short term wins of trendy cryptocurrencies. They look for long-term, high-return investments.

The Problem With Trends Like Bitcoin

I personally don’t like the latest investment trends. Why? Because it’s not stable.

They promise you fortunes but the investment is actually risky.

Also, I don’t know enough about it, that’s why I would never invest in it.

Most of those trends die down eventually and the investors lose quite some money.

Investment Strategy #2: Evaluate Before You Invest

The next one of the investment strategies of the wealthy is this: they know how to evaluate an opportunity.

If they get offered an investment, they don’t jump on immediately. They evaluate first.

They know what to look for and check if the investment would be too risky.

Being a good investor means you turn down a lot of chances.

You don’t blindly hop onto every single opportunity.

Wealthy people are patient. They take a step back to think about it. And then they take the right decision.

I personally refuse almost 99% of my investment opportunities – because I know exactly what I’m looking for.

I learned what to look for in an investment. Those pointers will tell me how risky it is.

Learn The Language of Money

Rich people speak the language of money. They know how to read financial statements. They understand tax systems.

If you are new to this, you might feel overwhelmed. But it’s learnable.

You don’t have to become an accountant to understand all this. But if you want to make money, you have to understand how it works.

But that’s why I recommend not to jump into the next best thing. Take your time to understand what you are doing.

So, what can you do? You should get familiar with the financial language. Common words like “interest rates”, “mortgage”, “bonds” and so on…

I call this “financial literacy.”

In day-to-day life, you need to be able to read so you can navigate yourself. Imagine you wouldn’t be able to read…what would that mean? You’d blindly trust others and hope they don’t betray or scam you. You would be pretty helpless in some situations.

It’s the same in the financial world. Without financial literacy, you are helpless. You might overlook important facts or evaluate the risk on investments all wrong.

Poor people jump right into the investment. Wealthy people learn vocabulary first. Poor people try to wing it. The wealthy evaluate, learn and act. They follow the strategy of evaluating before investing.

Investment Strategy #3: Have Some Money Ready

To invest you need a bit of cash that you can spend freely. So, ideally you have some money on the side that you use specifically for investments.

This money should be extra cash. Don’t go out and spend the money you need to secure your daily living.

How much money you need will depend on what kind of investment you want to make.

In real estate, there are ways to start out with a few hundred dollars. That’s why I like real estate. You can start quite easily and still get high-returns.

For other investments, you might need a bit more money.

That’s why investing is a game of wealthy people. If you don’t have a stable income yet, investing can be extremely risky.

That’s also why so many people loan money from a bank so they can invest. I don’t recommend it as has a high risk. You don’t want to get yourself in debt.

If you have the cash, however, the investment will reward you with even more money. That again gives you more extra money for the next investment. You’ll only become wealthier and wealthier.

Where Do You Get The Money to Start?

Well, the common strategy would be to take on a loan. I don’t like that idea, however.

I firmly believe, if you can’t pay the money out of your own pocket – then you aren’t investment ready yet. You are still in the phase of building your living.

You need to work on your income first. There are two ways.

It can come from your business or your high-income skill.

Both can get you enough money. Once you live comfortably, you take that extra money and invest it. Then you only get wealthier and wealthier.

That’s why, once you reach a certain income, keeping it isn’t that hard anymore.

But make sure to get there before you start investing all your money.

Start Small

What most people get wrong is this: they think they have to invest huge sums of money. That’s actually not true. Investing is not about how much you put in, it’s about how much you get out of it. Click To Tweet

Some people who followed me for some time know the wealth triangle I often talk about. The natural order of the wealth triangle is: develop your skill – scale it – start to invest.

This is one of the investment strategies I suggest because it’s very safe. Normally, I would suggest starting investing, as soon as your skill pays you 10,000$ a month.

But, this is the point most people misunderstand. I’m not telling you to go ahead and invest 10,000$. I’m telling you to take a bit of that money and use it for investing. It’s great to start small.

If you focus on high-return investments, it’s possible to start with a few hundred bucks and get high-returns on that.

Let’s say you start small and invest 100$. You get back 120%. You just got 20% on your investment back.

Invest the money you have in things you can afford. Even if you don’t have 10,000$ a month yet, you can start out. Waiting gets you nowhere. Your actions will be rewarded.

The sooner you start, the better. Start building the habit of investing as soon as you can. The sooner you start, the better you will become fast.

To have what wealthy people do you need to be and think like a wealthy person. What habit do most rich people have? They invest. So start building that habit now.

Don’t wait until you are successful. Do it now and become successful.

Investment Strategy #4: Know That Investors Keep Secrets

Wealthy people don’t boast and brag about the ways they invest. Sometimes, they actually want to keep it from the public. They don’t want it to get too popular.

I was quite surprised when I learned how the wealthy invest in real estate. They are using strategies you can’t find in books or even on the internet. Nobody teaches these things.

For example, in North America they would use Tax Lien Certificates…hardly any investors ever heard of this before.

What Are Those Secrets?

You can imagine it like this. If somebody owns a property – like a house for example – they have to pay taxes for it.

Now, if somebody isn’t able to pay their taxes, the state is losing money. But that money is needed for public services like the police, hospitals, school, roads and so on.

So, the state wants that money fast. If you are an investor, the state allows you to basically buy these taxes – in the form of a Tax Lien Certificate.

You are not buying the real estate – only the Tax Lien Certificate that is attached to it.

Imagine it like you would pay somebody else’s taxes. Why would you want to do that? Because it allows you to receive all the outstanding money. But there is more to it…

The owner of the house has to pay certain penalty fees because he paid too late. Guess who gets that money? YOU – the investor who now owns the Tax Lien Certificate.

Now the way wealthy people invest in North America is just incredible. Their strategies are stable, no matter how the economy will change in the future.

Usually, they are making 24% on interest rates.

And the best part? You don’t need to live in North America to do this. Let me share more about that a bit further below…

They Invest Differently

Normally, when you invest in real estate, you need people to assist you. Like brokers and financial advisors for example.

But with the strategies of the ultra-affluent, you don’t need any of these people.

With these kinds of investments, your money is basically protected by the law.

But the public doesn’t really know this because rich people like to keep their investment strategies a bit like a secret.

If too many people know and use these strategies, the demand might get too high. Or the banks get angry and change things up.

That’s another reason why I don’t like investment trends. It’s so popular it will only work for a limited time. Once too many people hop on the trend it will break down.

So the best way to find less risky investments is to talk to other wealthy people. See why it worked for them and how it could work for you.

Investment Strategy #5: Invest in Yourself

One of the most important investment strategies of the wealthy, is to invest in yourself.

The rich aren’t afraid to invest money on seminars and courses. They know that they need to upgrade their skills and abilities. Only that way can you get and stay wealthy.

Investing in yourself is one of the safest ways. Why? Because, no matter the economy, you can always rely on yourself. Click To Tweet

You don’t pay any interest on your abilities. Once you mastered something, nobody can take that away from you.

When you have valuable skills you will always be in demand, no matter how good or bad the economy is.

So while wealthy people invest in other sectors, they also invest in themselves.

What are some great ways to invest in yourself?

Read a book and implement your learnings
Go through a training
Visit a seminar
Learn a new skill (preferably a high-income skill)

Are You Ready To Invest in Yourself?

Now, what if I told you that you can learn more about the investment strategies of the wealthy?

From February 23rd to 24th, I’m hosting an exclusive event. It’s called Secret Of The Rich – because we will go over the secret investment strategies of the rich.

This is your chance to learn more about Tax Lien Certificates. You can use these strategies even if you don’t live in North America. And you only need a few hundred dollars to start out.

You can view this as an exclusive chance to invest in yourself. The skills you’ll learn at Secret Of The Rich are yours forever. Nobody can take that from you.

There is one catch, however. The seats at the event are now sold out. But there were so many people who didn’t get a ticket, so I decided to offer a live stream. When you get a live stream ticket, you will also get a full recording.

At Secrets Of The Rich, you’re going to learn how to thoroughly review an investment before putting one single dollar into it.

You’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. What your exit strategies are. And what you need to do to make this investment work.

So you’ll always be able to “look before you leap” so to speak. And that’s exactly what the rich do to minimize risk.

Find out more about the live stream HERE.

The Art of War: How Business Strategy Resembles Military Strategy?

January 21, 2020 by Dan Lok

Have you ever wondered how business strategy resembles military strategy? You may have heard that there a lot of parallels between business and war, right?

In fact, there are several books that have illustrated that parallel. However, amidst all, the Art of War remains a prime template for business owners to borrow powerful business lessons from.

The Art of War was written by Sun Tzu, a Chinese general, over 2500 years ago. It is believed to be one of the best books ever written on war strategies. In today’s times, it’s considered a must-read for business owners.

You see, Sun Tzu wrote this book to illustrate in detail how wars should be fought. He wanted to bring forth the elite war strategies that brought him victory. In fact, you can think of The Art of War as the world’s first self-help book.

Over the years, people have come to see similarities between war and business. In essence, between Sun Tzu’s military advice and contemporary business practice.

Sun Tzu divided his book into 13 chapters. Basically, elaborating on 13 unique concepts and tactics that are integral to a winning military strategy. If you wish to refer, here is a visual representation of this book.

Now, we have read and re-read this book several times. Every time we read it, there’s a new business lesson to learn from it.

Today, we want to share some of the best business lessons we have learned from The Art Of War. But first, we have to adapt his words to current times, to understand how business strategy resembles military strategy.

How Business Strategy Resembles Military Strategy: The Context

First and foremost, we suggest not taking Sun Tzu’s words too literally. Instead, we have to take his advice to generate relevant thoughts that apply to today’s world.

To do this effectively, you will have to think of business as a modern form of war. We can equate war and business, as a group of people pursuing a common goal in the face of competition.

As a business owner, you war with your competitors, right? You fight for market share and ultimately, domination in your industry.

Your competitor is like your enemy and you strive to dominate them on the battlefield of commerce. In this parallel, your enemy is also the challenge you face in day to day business. Furthermore, as a business owner, you are the commander of your army or the leader of your business.

Over the years, we’ve read several books on business strategy. We consider Sun Tzu’s The Art of War as one of the greatest books ever written on business. Every chapter could be applied to closing deals and increasing sales.

The best part about his concepts is that they can be applied to life in general, too. This book is not just for lessons in business.

As we mentioned earlier, we have read this book many times and have implemented many learnings from this book. We want to help you, as an ambitious business owner, apply these to your business and even to your life.

Here we list out 7 powerful business lessons and life principles from The Art Of War.

1. Knowledge Is Power

Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.

This is one of the most important lessons we have learned from The Art Of War. Let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

The above quotation by Sun Tzu highlights the importance of two things:

Self-knowledge
Knowledge of your competition

This means that an accurate self-perception is the golden key to success. Also, knowing who you are fighting against, goes hand in hand with it. Let’s look at each point in further detail.

Self-knowledge

Sun Tzu says that it’s important to accurately understand our real strengths and weaknesses. If we can do that, we will be able to become more effective in business. In essence, the more we know about the reasons for our preferences and actions, the better we will understand others.

You see, every decision you make reveals something about yourself. This process of self-analysis will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.

You know that for success, you have to work on improving your weaknesses. But at the same time, you have to focus on your strengths by taking them to the next level. If you are at a certain level of skill, upgrading it is something to strive for.

Hence, it is important to keep the constant pursuit of self-improvement going. In fact, this pursuit is one of the most powerful habits of self-made millionaires. If you are someone who wants to build upon your success, you should always look to grow your skills.

Have you noticed the behavior of a child? They learn about the world by being curious about every little thing around them. But, as we grow older, this natural curiosity fades. We become rigid in our thinking. Keeping your childlike curiosity, alive, at all times, will go a long way in helping you succeed.

Here are two powerful ways for self-development:

Reading books: The focus should be on self-improvement books, biographies, and books about successful people. This will give you the opportunity to learn and expand your horizons.
Finding a mentor: Speaking from our own experience, if you can find the right person to guide you, your life will change. You see, almost all successful business owners have had mentors. In fact, 93% of them claim their mentors were responsible for their wealth.

Knowledge of Your Competition

When you know yourself but not the enemy, your chances of winning and losing are equal.

Sun Tzu says our chances of winning are reduced by half if we do not know our enemy. Let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this case.

What this means is that in order to succeed, you have to know what your competition is doing. Also, you should be aware of your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. Why is that important?

Well, so you can strategically apply that information to benefit your business. Now, the application of that knowledge could mean taking a step back. It could also mean moving forward.

You see, learning what your competitors are doing can give you valuable insights into your plans. If you can predict your opponent’s action, you have the possibility of generating a mismatch that works in your favor.

So, it is important to learn to spot loopholes and weaknesses in your business environment. This singular factor can be a big competitive advantage for you.

2. Build The Right Team

When the troops are united, the brave cannot advance alone, nor can the cowardly retreat.

If you want to succeed in business, you can’t operate alone. This is an important team-building lesson we learn from The Art Of War. Let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

As a business owner, you have to lead by example. But it’s only the capabilities of your team and employees that can take your business to the next level, right?

So you have to focus on hiring the right people who are a fit for your business. These are the people who can align with your goals and purpose.

Also, it is important that your team is unified with a common purpose. This will help them commit their hearts to your business. It will energize them towards achieving the goals you have assigned.

This spirit of common purpose builds team consistency. A team will work better when people know and trust each other.

It takes time to build productive interaction and mutual trust in a team. So you must give the members the chance to spend some time together in team-building activities. Successful businesses are made up of people who have shared experiences working towards a common goal.

Sun Tzu further says:

When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness, and repose confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to keep your team happy and motivated so they keep giving their best. You see, we all know that as a business leader, you are required to have a sound mind. However, if you want to be a great one, you need to have a solid character, too.

3. Create A Solid Yet Flexible Plan

The commander who gets many scores during the calculations in the temple before the war will have more likelihood of winning.

Sun Tzu says a leader with a better plan, wins the war. So, let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

We know planning is integral to success in business. But it is important to remember that no single plan works well for everyone and everywhere. Moreover, there are several factors that can influence the success or failure of a plan.

So first, you have to create a solid plan of action. A plan that will get you started. However, in business, there will always be situations where you may have to change your plans.

So you have to be ready and willing to adapt it according to changing needs. You have to consider all the alternatives available. Hence, your plan must be flexible and adaptable to circumstances.

Planning is a process of understanding what is happening in constantly changing situations and adapting with energy and determination. Click To Tweet

You see, your plan can either be like a tree or a pole. If you want it to bear fruit like a tree, it needs to have branches. But, if your plans are too rigid, you will not be able to adjust to circumstances and fail.

It doesn’t mean that your plan has to be complicated. A simple plan is easier to turn into action.

So, here’s what we suggest:

Set a clearly defined goal and give yourself a schedule to achieve it.
Start working towards your goal. Every plan needs to be followed by action.
Every step is a teacher. If you succeed, take it to the next level. If not, then be willing to adapt and learn.

4. Grow Your Network

Foreknowledge must be obtained from men who know the enemy situation.

Sun Tzu says that spies can help you win wars. So, let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

You see, the foundation of your business growth is the size and strength of your network. We know networking requires an investment of time and energy. However, it gets you the results.

As a business owner, you have to choose your network wisely. On a closer level, you should surround yourself with people who are positive and add value to your life.

At the same time, you also need to build a network professionally. When you go to events, you should focus on developing relationships with people.

Moreover, you will never have a strong network unless you actively manage your contacts. Good networking involves both meeting new acquaintances and actively moving those relationships to a closer friendship.

If you’re an introvert, follow this blueprint to develop interpersonal skills, as it will be very useful to effectively network. You see, knowing the right people can literally take your business to the next level. Or help in knowing your competitor’s situation.

This is a very powerful lesson from Sun Tzu. To rightly understand how business strategy resembles military strategy in this case, you have to utilize networking to your benefit. So on your next business trip, we suggest you call and schedule a meet with some people in your network.

Remember to be personal in your approach to maximize the benefit of networking. Your contacts will be flattered by your interest. Whether or not you do meet, the offer breeds a stronger relationship.

You never know what you may get to learn about your competition. Furthermore, an amazing opportunity could come your way, too.

5. Build On Your Success

To win battles and capture lands and cities, but to fail to consolidate these achievements is ominous and may be described as a waste of time and resources.

Sun Tzu is talking about maximizing your victories in battle. So, let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

Essentially, when you achieve some success in business, always strive to take it to the next level. You see, success breeds success. The key to any successful business is getting the first success and then leveraging additional success from each new victory.

Sometimes with success, people tend to stop doing the things that made them successful. When they stop putting in the effort, the competition will be ready to seize the opportunity.

Hence, when you are already in an advantageous position, you need to change your gears and go full throttle.

So, ask yourself:

What do you want to accomplish in the long term with your business?
How do you want to take your short term success to long term success?

Sun Tzu also says:

A skilled commander sets great store by using the situation to the best advantage.

As a business owner, you must train your eyes to see opportunities that others can’t see. You have to always be on the lookout. When you find a suitable opportunity, leverage your strengths and your network, to grab it.

6. Avoid The Avoidable

By taking into account the unfavorable factors, he may avoid possible disasters.

Sun Tzu talks about considering factors that can cause problems, before advancing in any situation, to avoid defeat. So, let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

As a business owner, you have to anticipate problems before they arise and strive to avoid making mistakes. Yes, many mistakes are often visible only in hindsight. However, what you can do is strive to take measures for things you have control over.

Let’s say you have faced an obstacle in the past. Identify those obstacles for which specific measures can be taken.

As a business owner, you have control over:

The quality of your product
Your service
Your delivery time

Since you can control it, you can plan to avoid any errors, right? In fact, that should be an integral part of your overall business strategy.

Anything big or small, that is under your control should be planned meticulously to avoid any future errors. Even small decisions in business can affect the grand scheme of things.

There will always be some mistakes because the human element is unpredictable. What you have to do is take as much advance action as you can, to avoid future errors.

7. Timing Is Everything

When the strike of the hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing. The timing is similar to the release of the trigger.

Sun Tzu is talking about the importance of timing when pulling the trigger on an enemy, in battle. So, let’s look at how business strategy resembles military strategy, in this thought.

We know in business, timing is of great importance if you want to take full advantage of opportunities. As a simple rule, often the earlier the better, right?

Essentially, you make a decision and implement it. The longer it takes to take action, the more catching up will be required later.

However, sometimes, it is important to wait for the opportune moments to make full use of the chances. It could be beneficial to take a step back and slow down and learn from competitor’s mistakes. Remember, even if your competition seems to have every advantage, a well-timed attack can uncover weaknesses.

Let’s take a look at a relatively recent example here. The launch of the 1st Android smartphone was delayed because of the iPhone’s launch. Would Android have the same success, had they launched as per their original plan? Most likely, not.

They went back and polished their product by seeing their competition. They learned from the success of iOS on how a touch-based software is supposed to be.

You see, timing is crucial to everything you do in business. As a business owner, it is up to you to judge the right time for every step you take.

Forge Your 8-Figure Dynasty

We encourage all business owners to read The Art Of War. If you read it thoroughly and you will see how business strategy resembles military strategy, in every paragraph. You will be surprised to see it’s relevance in both business and in life, today.

However, these military lessons are just the initial steps you can take to take your business to the next level. For the extremely ambitious business owners, Dan Lok has created the world’s most exclusive business advisory board: Dragon 100™.

Dragon 100™ is designed for those who are committed to turning into 8-figure business owners. People who are committed to living life at a level few may ever attain. It is limited to an exclusive group of only 100 serious business owners worldwide.

Dragon 100™ provides an unprecedented opportunity to network with other elite entrepreneurs and learn from Dan Lok himself. For the first time ever, Dan will be taking you behind the scenes of his business.

In this program, he will share his hard-won business experience that has established his global empire. This experience is the most exclusive opportunity for select business owners to transform into the world’s elite.

Do you have what it takes to create a massive, worldwide empire of your own? If yes, then apply for Dragon 100™ and earn the chance to learn from The King of Closing, himself.

How To Position Yourself As An Expert

January 18, 2020 by Dan Lok

Do you know why it’s important to learn how to position yourself as an expert? Because establishing yourself as an expert in your industry means that people in your industry will think you’re the best.

If you’re viewed as an expert, you’re viewed as the best.

Most people want to work with the best, learn from the best, and collaborate with the best. This means that if you figure out how to position yourself as an expert, you’ll be highly sought-after. Opportunities will be endless.

Furthermore, most people are willing to pay premium prices to work with the best and to work with experts. For many business executives, working with an expert is worth every dollar.

In fact, the moment a business increases its hiring budget, they’ll often seek out experts to hire, especially if they can now afford to hire a coveted expert.

Another great thing about learning how to position yourself as an expert, is that once you become viewed as an expert, you are highly trusted. This means that your clients and peers will trust you with big projects, large-scale public speaking opportunities, coveted media slots, exclusive contracts, and more.

Successful people have often established themselves as an authority figure or expert, in a particular field or subject area. They become known as the person to go to for their niche.

You will feel very significant if you’re known for something. Once you learn how to position yourself as an expert, you’ll be known for something, and it’ll lead you to amazing opportunities.

In this article, I’m going to guide you on how to position yourself as an expert. If you are able to establish yourself as an expert, incredible opportunities will come your way, and you’ll earn a much higher income than you do now.

In other words, becoming viewed as an expert is extremely good for business.

Let’s discuss some various ways you can work towards positioning yourself as an expert.

Specialize in a Niche Area of Focus

As soon as you decide you’re going to narrow your focus and specialize in a particular niche, you’ll fast-track your way to expert-level status.

It’s very difficult to be viewed as an expert unless you specialize in something particular. If you specialize in a service such as copywriting or closing, for example, you’ll get more clients than you would if you were a general freelance writer or a general sales person.

An expert eats, sleeps, and breathes his or her special skill. An expert’s sole focus is typically on that one thing they want to be the best at.

The reason this works is because you gain your audience’s trust when they know your focus isn’t split between various services, fields, or industries. Once it becomes clear that you’ve dedicated yourself to one niche, you’ll attract more clients and more opportunities.

Have you ever noticed that you tend to gravitate towards ‘specialists’ because you view them as experts? I want you to imagine that you’re searching online for a freelance graphic designer to design your new company logo. What would attract your attention more: A general graphic designer, or a graphic designer who only designs company logos, and specializes in logos?

That’s why it’s best not to claim to be an expert at everything, but rather an expert at one thing.

Get Media Coverage

When you’re trying to figure out how to position yourself as an expert, hopefully you won’t forget how important media coverage is.

I’ve been interviewed by Fox Business News Network and CNBC, as well as plenty of media coverage from Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine.

If you’re interviewed in a big magazine, or quoted as an expert in a large publication, you’re effectively positioning yourself as an expert.

Wondering how to accomplish this? One thing you can do is pitch people who write for large publications that have a target audience that aligns with yours. If the writer is intrigued by your story, they might contact you for an interview or a quote.

Worried that you don’t have what it takes to craft a compelling pitch to the media? Many people hire copywriters to write their pitch for them, so that it’s as persuasive as possible.

Another thing you can do is use HARO which stands for ‘Help a Reporter’ and sign up for email updates as an expert source for the media. Often, popular magazines and well-known publications will send out queries, looking for a particular expert in a particular field, who can contribute advice to their article or story. By responding to several of these queries every day, you’re bound to get some media coverage.

When people start seeing that famous publications are quoting you as an expert or interviewing you, you’ll immediately be viewed as an expert and you’ll be highly sought-after. Being featured in a popular magazine is a very effective form of social proof.

How To Position Yourself As An Expert Using Social Proof

You might be wondering, What exactly is social proof? Well, social proof is a social and psychological phenomenon that describes people’s natural tendency to ‘do what everyone else is doing’, ‘follow whoever everyone else is following’, ‘buy whatever everyone else is buying’ and copy the actions of others. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

With the rise of social media, the concept of social proof has become much more powerful than Cialdini himself could have predicted.

For example, if your Instagram account has hundreds of thousands of followers, people will view you as an expert and be more likely to follow you. I currently have over 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and this just makes more people want to follow me and work with me. This is social proof at work.

Similarly, if your book is for sale on Amazon and has hundreds of positive reviews, this is another form of social proof that positions you as an expert.

You can call yourself an expert all you want, but it doesn’t mean much unless other people are calling you an expert, too.

I always say that what other people say about you is infinitely more powerful than if you say it yourself.

This is especially true when a popular public figure or influencer endorses you as an expert. Whenever someone famous or well-known endorses you, this is an especially powerful form of social proof.

Provide Value on Social Media

Short Instagram stories, Facebook Live videos, and YouTube videos are a great way to show your followers that you are an expert on a particular subject.

You don’t want to give all of your knowledge and expertise away for free, but you do want to provide value in these videos to demonstrate that you not only know your stuff – you’re an expert.

You can answer common questions your audience has, so that you’re providing valuable advice and positioning yourself as an expert.

When you’re figuring out how to position yourself as an expert, you’ll want to keep track of the common questions and concerns from your audience. Make sure to provide expert advice on your social media that answers some of these common questions.

Publicize Your Awards, Accolades and Experiences

Be sure to tell your story to your audience about how you got to be so good at what you do, and how you became an expert in your field. Describe your experiences that lead you to your current expert-level status.

Furthermore, don’t forget to publicly share any awards, accolades, interviews or press that you’ve received. All of these media mentions and awards help boost your position as an expert.

You might be thinking, But what if I don’t have any awards or accolades? If you don’t have any yet, why not apply to be nominated? Sometimes awards are awarded through a voting system, and other times there’s a panel of judges. Sometimes, a submission of some kind is required to be considered for an award. With a support system behind you, you can try to get yourself nominated for recognition.

In 2019, I won the Eventex People’s Choice Event for Closers in Black. The award is based on votes from members of the public, and I came in second place. I also won one of the 2019 Best in Biz Awards and a 2019 Stevie Award.

Speak at Public Events

It’s not easy to get a position speaking at a public event. However, being up on stage in front of an audience definitely positions you as the expert. Everyone knows that the person up on the stage is the expert. I recently gave a public speech on the stage of StartCon Australia, and I’ve also done two TEDx speeches.

Speaking on these prestigious stages definitely helped me establish myself as an expert.

Whenever I’m given an opportunity like this, I make sure to prepare very valuable material for my audience. I make sure not to let such an important opportunity go to waste.

Testimonials, Testimonials, and More Testimonials

The more testimonials you have from impressed customers, the more you’ll be viewed as an expert.

I have received thousands of testimonials. Many of these are video testimonials from students who graduated from my High-Ticket Closer Certification Program (HTC graduates) with positive reviews.

These reviews and testimonials only make more people want to enroll in HTC.

Associate With A-Players

Don’t get caught associating with B players. Why? Because winners surround themselves with other winners. A-players surround themselves with other A-players. Experts should therefore surround themselves with other experts.

People will respect you more if they see that you associate with A-players and work with the best.

I associate myself with A-players such as Dan Pena and Jay Abraham.

So, where can you meet A-players? You can meet A-players at elite networking events, or within elite communities such as my HTC community or my Closers in Black community.

Charge High-Ticket Prices

Experts always charge high fees, and part of positioning yourself as an expert is raising your prices.

Many of my mentees have thanked me for teaching them how to charge higher prices. I equip individuals with the self-confidence and closing skills necessary to charge higher prices. It’s these premium prices that help position you as an expert.

No expert would charge a low fee, so if you want to learn how to position yourself as an expert, raising your rates must be on your to-do list.

If you discount your services or charge low fees, people will assume you must be pretty amateur and not an expert. Everyone understands that they get what they pay for, and they assume they’ll be paying more for an expert.

Write a Book

Although it’s a lot of work, writing a book is another powerful way to position yourself as an expert. You’ve heard the expression, “I wrote the book on that.” Well, the truth is, if you write a book on a niche subject, people will automatically assume that you must be an expert in that niche.

Imagine if you are trying to figure out how to position yourself as an expert in interior decorating. If you’re trying to close a high-ticket client, wouldn’t you be more likely to close that client if you could show them the recent book you got published on interior decorating?

I have published over a dozen books, including several books on High-Ticket Closing, and people started calling me the King of High-Ticket Sales.

I don’t really want you to call me that, so please don’t. The point is, because I teach a course on High-Ticket Sales and I’ve also written books on it, people know that I’m an expert in this niche. I’ve established myself as an authority figure on this subject.

The Closer’s Black Book is one of the best books I’ve written on the art of closing, and people buy it because I’ve established myself as an expert on this subject. The people who buy this book know that they’re going to learn about closing from the best, because I am a master at closing. Click here to buy a copy of The Closer’s Black Book.

Do You Need Help Figuring Out How to Position Yourself as an Expert?

If you need help figuring out how to position yourself as an expert, let me ask you this: Are you ready to invest in yourself? The Dan Lok Shop has several items that will help you learn how to position yourself as an expert. Click here to visit the Dan Lok Shop and set yourself up for success.

LinkedIn Strategies To Master Networking

January 5, 2020 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

Have you ever gone to a conference or networking event and you were an absolute wallflower? All you did was watch everyone else connect and making deals?

All the other people seemed to manage to take it to the next level. They took it outside the event and generated business together. But you were standing on the side – all alone?

Maybe you managed to make some connections. You got some business cards but you already know you won’t really use those. All you made were loose, superficial connections.

So now, you spent all this time preparing and actually being away from your business. But you are not really taking anything away from the event.

Going out there and spending time away from your business is an investment, however. That’s why you want an ROI – Return on investment.

What if I told you, you can resolve all of this by leveraging LinkedIn? Most professionals don’t do this, because these strategies are a bit unknown. But really, there are millions of professionals on LinkedIn right now. They are waiting for you to connect with.

Let’s make sure the next event you attend will be worth your time. Let me share the 3 Unknown LinkedIn Strategies To Master Networking.

LinkedIn Strategy #1: Before The Event

The LinkedIn strategy number one is to put some time into research before the event even happens. Find out who is attending and connect with them beforehand.

On the event page, you can usually find and attendance list. Go through the list, take the names and put them in the search engine of LinkedIn.

Connect with them directly. Message them and let them know that you are going to the same exact event and why you are going to be there.

That way, you have the first touch point before the event actually happens.

At the event, you can go up to the individual and re-introduce yourself. They might recognize you because you have already made that connection beforehand.

But even if they don’t recognize you, you’ve done your research. You’ve looked at their LinkedIn profile, check the jobs they have done and the projects they were on.

Usually, you find all of those points in their LinkedIn description or in the experience part of their LinkedIn profile. Remember some interesting facts about them. Ask them about specific projects they worked on in the past.

They will likely be surprised that you remembered. That is a great way to build a good relationship early on. It shows, that you actually care about the individual and what they are doing.

On LinkedIn, you can also check other people they are connected to. Simply scroll down the page and look at the recommended section. You also want to connect with those individuals and check what projects they’ve been on.

LinkedIn Strategy #2: Follow Up Sequence After the Event

Use this second LinkedIn strategy after the event.

So, you had that touch point with the individuals before the event. During the event, you introduced yourself to them. Now afterward, you want to make sure you connect with them again.

After all, you want to take the connection to the next level. This is to make sure the connections you made have actual value for you and the other person.

The 7 Touch Point Theory

A touch point is whenever you interact with another human.

Have you heard about the 7 Touch Point Theory? This theory says that you have to interact with a person 7 times to build trust and rapport. By the seventh touch point, you are usually ready to deepen the relationship.

This theory is often used in sales. The idea is, that a lead has to interact with a brand seven times before they consider buying from them. But the principals are equally powerful for building business relationships.

Touch points can happen through direct interaction – for example, if you message the person directly. But, it also helps to have some indirect touch points. First, you connect with them on LinkedIn. Afterward, you post high-quality articles or other content on your profile.

Make sure others see your posts frequently to generate more interactions with them.

Ideally, the individual and you have different forms of touch points over time. Obviously, you don’t want to spam them with messages. That would more likely scare them away from you.

Some experts argue that the ideal number of touch points might actually be 13 and not seven.

Most people get a lot of messages and see ads all over different social media platforms. That’s why it might take more than seven interactions to build that trust and rapport.

Once the relationship has deepened, you are ready to take it to the next level. That can mean you get a sale or form a business partnership. Sometimes it means you get an official introduction with another person they know.

LinkedIn Strategy #3: Be a Super-Connector

LinkedIn strategy number three is being a super-connector.

What is a super-connector? It’s a person who might not have any direct value to give, but they have indirect value – which is their network.

Let’s say, for example, that you met John, who has a Facebook ad agency. John needs a copywriter. If you know someone who is an excellent copywriter, you may go ahead and introduce those two.

When you make that connection you aren’t directly adding value – as you are not the copywriter yourself. But, by making that connection you added value to both parties. In the future, they are more likely to trust you because you built that rapport.

You have given value to both individuals and you are now a super-connector that they both know and trust. They will think about you for any future business references.

What is Rapport?

Rapport is basically an emotional connection between people. Sometimes rapport happens naturally.

This happens when you get this feeling that you and the other person simply get along well. The conversation is in the flow and there are mutual trust and understanding.

If you meet a new person you can make sure to build rapport. Even if the other individual and you don’t have that much in common.

Usually, you would want to break the ice. Talking to a new person can be stressful to some, so pick an easy and safe topic for the first conversation.

If you’ve followed LinkedIn strategy number one and actually contacted them before the event, this will be even easier. Simply introduce yourself again and fall back on your research.

During the conversation, you want to be an active listener and show empathy. Keep eye contact for approximately 60% of the conversation.

An expert tip for rapport building is to mirror the other person’s body language subtlety. You can’t do this too obviously though as the other person might feel ridiculed.

So, make the best out of the touch points you have during events and follow up with your LinkedIn strategies.

How To Become A Super-Connector

Maybe these LinkedIn strategies sound valuable to you but you feel you aren’t a super-connector yet?

If you attend conferences or networking events regularly you will quite naturally become a person with a huge network.

As it grows you will get to know more and more people who are experts in their field. Those are valuable contacts you can refer to later.

Use LinkedIn to organize all your business contacts. That makes connecting others easier too.

The three top tips to becoming a super-connector fast:

You want to attend events often and always show up when you said you will be there. Don’t reach out to people on LinkedIn and introduce yourself if you don’t plan to show up. It’s a waste of time.
Always follow up and keep old contacts fresh. Individuals want to feel cared about. Show them that they are more than a number on your LinkedIn profile.
When you connect two other individuals, always do so with a clear idea in mind. Make sure the connections you form are actually valuable for both parties. Never make a connection just for the sake of making a connection.

Become A World-Class Connector

Do you still struggle with confidently speaking to people, influencing them and persuading them? Is your fear of public speaking interfering with your ability to make a strong impression in networking events or prospecting calls? Do you want advanced ways to skyrocket your confidence so you can get more clients and retain them? There is a way, if you’re willing to put in the work.

To elevate your life and career success, you must become a master closer, negotiator, speaker and connector all-in-one. That’s how you get competitive advantage and stand out from the rest. To accelerate your growth, click here to get The Rainmaker Collection now.