Part 16 (1/2)

Writing and publishi+ng a book is a ti before the actual writing of the book and continues through the lengthy editing, publishi+ng, and bookauthors ents,contracts; and, ulti and publicity of the book-al while keeping up with their everyday business activities This often leaves the professional service provider wondering, ”Is it worth it?”

Being in the business of figuring out ”what's worth it” infor professional services, we at Welesley Hils Group and RainTodaycom conducted research to find out The result was our report, The Business I a Book In this research we surveyed 200 professionals across industries who have themselves written a book, or books, in order to answer that al -important question: ”Is the investment in blood, sweat, and tears required to write a book worth it to”yes” While the report did not evaluate theauthors had written, the vast majority of authors who participated in our research realized a significant positive impact on their business or practice as a result of publishi+ng one book or ht leadershi+p and credibility

Al coeneration

Generating speeches

Opening doors to write for prestigious publications

Publicity

Passive revenue generation

Words of wisdo, but many a contribution to the business bookshelf has been less than stel ar Al things being equal, a good book wil sel more and reflect better on you and your practice

Publish with a major publisher first There's a lot of buzz about self-publishi+ng, but our research and experience strongly suggest that publishi+ng with a major publisher for at least your first book has

Sel as many books as you can Authors who sold more than 10,000 copies of their first book had much more positive impact across their businesses than those who sold fewer copies Authors who sold nificantly greater impact on their businesses than those who sold between 10,000 and 20,000 copies (See Chapter 15, ”Research results,” pp 208-210)Get al the leverage you can fro engagens

Webinars Clients Books are platfor and client relations activities

Expect to be the one to do a good portion of the est factor that publishers look for fro platform How many books wil you sel yourself?

Co as a book

Thinking your good idea and good writing wil get picked up by ais a business Typical y your ability to get a book accepted by aand sales platform and what you'l do to sel books, not your content or skil as a writer

Believing your content has to be 100 percent breakthrough new It just has to be helpful The ”what's different” request from most publishers is more for how they can position it for sale, not that they care if it's the first time anyone has written about the subject

Self-publishi+ng disappointments Sure, it seems easier to self-publish And you can make 25 per book instead of only 1! But the folks we know, and the participants in our research, who did not have at least their first book with a et the sales or the ancil ary benefits to nearly the saot a book contract with a reputable publisher

Se tactics for professional services firet paid for attendance at public seminars, and your fabulous delivery and value should yield leads for both on-site se services Many a fir operation on the back of its se a paid-se Many firet it done, if you can get it done, it can be apaid seminars is not the only path to success You can offer free seminars produced by your firm You can deliver seminars for major seminar companies, as many of them subcontract delivery

Whatever your path, keep in mind that after referrals and brand, seminars are the top method buyers are likely to use to identify potential service providers52 Typically good for:Lead generation

Thought leadershi+p

Brand RAMP

Offering that goes along with outreach (advertising, directpaid for

Initial service to offer to a company that can lead to additional services

Words of wisdomSeminars require commitment It's rare to find a company that can run a successful seminar just here and there

Be paranoid about attendance Most fir Most fir decision makers to attend your seminars-that's tricky

Know the eneration It's different fro Whatse

Make the content draw irresistible

Include clients and other credibility enhancers like guest speakers

If you don't want to run your own se for other coh at it, and if a seminar company exists in your space that uses subcontract facilitators, it's worth the effort to work your way in

If you're planning onmoney with your public seet in fro you can get the public se) in the fore row rich” books tel you about attendance generation Most of the in spreadsheet fantasies Don't play the ”Woe'l a and sales costs at se what it takes to generate attendance Poor targeting, lists, and databases are usual y the reat lists to leverage, you're at a ht up in the ”it's new, it'l be huge” trap There are thousands of leadershi+p seminars for a reason: People buy leadershi+p se total y new and you have to ask yourself, ”Is there aup after the se and Information 53 (the only hile book we have ever read on the subject of se) that results froras after the senificantly after a few days ”Let's wait a week and then cal the The best sel ing you can do is to deliver an excel ent se in your capabilities and how you can help is a subtle nuance Pitch too hard too fast, and you'l turn people off Once you've done a great job delivering, ive you license to mention what you do

Variations on Seminars: Webinars and Teleseminars The same uses and advice apply for webinars and teleseminars as for seminars, but the personal and e

Co, poor delivery Delivery is different than in sey to keep people's attention

Technology proble webinars and teleseminars If you want a sreat, unknown niche players, but you are taking a chance