Welcome to Book Bytes. Today we're looking at Daniel Priestley's key person of influence, the revised edition. Yeah, and the subtitle really sets the stage.
The five-step method to become one of the most highly valued and highly paid people in your industry. It's quite a promise. It is, and Priestley basically lays out this roadmap for becoming what he calls a KPI, a key person of influence.
Uh-huh. The idea is that being a KPI is what really attracts opportunities, boosts your income, and, well, makes things happen in your field. So for you listening, if you want those core insights quickly, those aha moments without reading cover to cover, this is for you.
We'll be unpacking the five key steps Priestley outlines. Pitch, publish, products, profile, and partnerships, giving you the essence of becoming that go-to person. And it seems like the book's really hit home for a lot of people.
It's got, what, over a thousand ratings, averaging around four out of five. Pretty solid. It really is.
And Priestley kicks off with a pretty bold statement, actually. He says, until you are a key person of influence in the industry you love, your full-time job is to become one. Wow.
Okay. That definitely puts a different spin on, you know, career focus. It really does.
It suggests this shouldn't just be a side project, but a primary driver for your ambition. So what does being a KPI actually mean, according to him? Well, he defines it as being essentially well-known, highly valued, and really well-connected within your specific industry. It's about more than just doing the work, then.
It's reputation network. Exactly. And the benefits he highlights are, you know, pretty appealing.
More money, more opportunities coming to you, greater recognition, and frankly, just enjoying your work more. Okay. So let's get into those five steps.
The first one is pitch. Yes. Mastering your pitch.
Priestley sees this as absolutely fundamental. It's your opening move, how you first communicate your value, what makes you different. It needs to be compelling, right? Like, immediately grab attention.
And clear. It has to clearly spell out the problem you address and, importantly, your unique insight or angle on solving it. Okay.
So he breaks down the elements. He does. You start with the problem and your unique insight.
Then you explain the impact. Why does this problem matter? Makes sense. Then, obviously, your solution.
But crucially, you need to back it up. You need proof, credibility, what makes you the one to listen to. Right.
Got to have substance. And then a clear ask or call to action. And interestingly, he adds that you should leave people feeling sort of uplifted, energized by the conversation.
And it's not a one-and-done thing, I gather. Definitely not. He really emphasizes continuous practice and refinement.
There's a great quote, if your pitch sounds too rehearsed, you haven't rehearsed it enough. Huh. So practice until it sounds completely natural.
Exactly. Until it's second nature, authentic, powerful. Okay.
So after nailing the pitch, step two is publish. Right. Publishing your insights.
And he makes this neat connection between author and authority. Ah, I like that. Publishing gives you authority.
Precisely. When you put your ideas out there, consistently, in some form, you're planting your flag. You're demonstrating expertise, building trust.
And publishing is broad now, isn't it? Not just like writing a physical book. Oh, yeah. He includes articles, blogs, podcasts like this, video content, special reports, white papers, lots of formats.
So the key is finding your unique angle. Yeah. Focus on your unique insights, choose the format that works for you and your audience, be consistent with valuable content, and use it strategically to connect with other influencers, too.
Got it. Okay, step three, products. Creating valuable products.
He has a very direct line on this. Money moves towards hot products. Simple as that.
Meaning create something people actually want and need. Exactly. Something desirable that solves a real problem.
He talks about creating a product ecosystem. Ecosystem, like different types of products. Yeah, sort of a range.
Think digital products, courses, apps, templates, physical products, maybe. Then productized services, packaging your expertise into something scalable. Oh, interesting.
Like a fixed price consulting package or something. Could be, yeah. And then higher value custom implementation solutions for bigger clients.
So the strategy here is... Focus on solving a specific problem. Big focus on implementation, helping people get results, not just giving information. Right.
Results matter. Definitely. And having products at different price points to serve different needs.
And, of course, you have to keep innovating, keep improving those products. Okay, makes sense. Moving on to number four, profile.
Building that personal brand and online presence. Yes, and this is where he drops that line. You are who Google says you are.
Which is kind of scary, but probably true these days. First impressions are often digital. Absolutely.
So his advice is pretty practical. Use social media smartly, LinkedIn, maybe Twitter, depends on your industry. Have a professional website or blog as your central hub.
And keep sharing valuable stuff. Consistently share valuable content, engage with people, build that community, and make sure people can actually find you. Basic SEO matters.
And the payoff for building this profile... Well, he lists quite a few. Generating leads, converting leads, getting customers to spend more, encouraging repeat business, lowering your marketing costs overall, and just boosting your brand recognition and trust. It feeds into everything else, really.
It does. It's how people find and trust your expertise before they even engage with your pitch or products. Right.
Okay, the fifth and final step, partnerships. Yeah, leveraging partnerships for exponential growth. He uses that great analogy instead of fighting over the existing pie.
Build a bigger bakery. I like that one. Collaboration over competition.
Exactly. It's about creating a multiplier effect through strategic alliances. What kinds of partnerships does he mean? All sorts, really.
Affiliate deals, co-marketing or promotions, creating products together, joint ventures for bigger projects, even just broader strategic alliances. And what makes these partnerships actually work? The core things are, it absolutely has to be a win-win. Clear communication is vital.
You have to be reliable. Do what you say you'll do. And always be thinking about how you can add value to your partners, not just what you can get.
Makes sense. It's about mutual benefit and trust. Totally.
And underlying all five steps, Priestley keeps coming back to this idea of resourcefulness and just taking action. Right. He challenges that feeling of, I don't have the resources.
Yeah. He says resources show up after resourcefulness. It flips the script.
It's your ingenuity. And drive that, attract what you need. So how do you become more resourceful? He suggests things like asking better, smarter questions.
Yeah. Actively expanding your network. And just being willing to stretch yourself to try things outside your comfort zone.
And then just do it. Take action. Yes.
Embrace momentum. Build a supportive network around you. Focus on the big picture, the big game as he calls it.
And keep finding ways to reignite your passion for what you're doing. So recapping the five steps. Pitch, publish, products, profile, partnerships.
That's the framework. That's the core method, yeah. Develop each area strategically.
There are some really sticky quotes in there too. Like, your best ideas will come out to play, not to work. Yeah.
That's a good reminder about creativity needing space, not just pressure. And you are already standing on a mountain of value. That's encouraging.
Use what you already have. Mm-hmm. And that last one about resourcefulness.
Resourcefulness shows up after you make a commitment. Commitment first, then the means appear. Okay.
So we've covered the core ideas, but it's good to look critically too, right? What are some of the critiques or counterpoints people raise about the book? Well, it generally gets praise for being practical, very actionable, especially the advice on pitching and publishing. People find that really helpful. But some readers do find parts of it a bit repetitive.
And there's a sense maybe that it leans quite heavily towards entrepreneurs or people in like sales and business development roles. Right. So maybe less directly applicable if you're, say, an employee in a large corporation, although the principles still hold.
Potentially, yeah. The examples often feel quite entrepreneurial. Also, you have to remember the publication date 2010 for the original, even the revision is a few years old now.
So the digital landscape stuff, particularly around profile, has evolved a lot since then. Exactly. The platforms change.
The specific tactics change. You'd need to adapt that advice for, you know, TikTok or whatever is current now. But the fundamental principle of needing an online presence and managing your digital reputation, that's probably more relevant than ever.
So the core ideas hold up, but maybe need a contemporary filter applied. I think that's a fair assessment. Some might find it basic if they're already deep into this stuff.
Others find it a really valuable starting point or refresher, regardless of where they are in their career. So overall, a solid framework for intentionally building influence. Definitely.
It provides structure and focus across those five key areas. Pitch, publish, products, profile, partnerships. A useful way to think about elevating your impact.
So maybe a good question for you listening is, which of those five areas feels like the biggest opportunity for you right now? Where could a bit of focus make the most difference? Yeah, that's a great takeaway question. Where's your leverage point? Absolutely. Well, hopefully this gave you some valuable insights from key person of influence.
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Thanks for tuning in.
