Who is Kevin?
Kevin is a real estate agent who has written a book called The Professional Referral Solution. He is a two-fingered typist and had not planned on writing a book. After speaking with 90-Minute Books, he put his thoughts down into book format. After speaking with Susan, he was able to get it down quickly, and it has sent a lot of his business in a different direction than he had planned. The book has sent much of his business in a different direction than what he had planned, but identical to what his mentor told him would happen.
He has built a system to become a referral source for those with contact with many others. This system has been used by other agents to explain that they don’t do door knocking, phone calls, cold calls, or farming and do a professional referral system. Kevin then decided to create a book that could be handed off to people and give them the background. He wanted to put something in their hands and say, “Here. Read this. If you want to know more, come back.” He is happy to share what they do but still needs to be able to run their business. The book has succeeded, and the author plans to keep talking unless they are stopped.
Kevin found an alternative way to do business, which is much more enjoyable and rewarding than cold calling. They have created the 90-Minute Books, which can be used as a business card or to promote other parts of their business. The book has a neat, tidy, professional-looking format, with a nice cover and graphic design that is easy to read. This allows people to get information out of their heads and then show up back for more information.
Book Prep
Kevin spent a weekend putting together notes for his book. He took a plane trip to visit family and transferred the notes into a Word document on his laptop. He spent an hour or two each day sorting the notes into the right order. He took on the Lee Iaccoca form of thinking that when you have 80% of what you need and can move forward with that 80%, you should go for it rather than wait for 100%. Even though he didn’t think it was perfect, he still moved forward with it and got it rolling. He is glad he did because otherwise, he would still be fixing to get ready.
He took advantage of the opportunity to go back and make corrections before the final product was published, which he appreciated. He also wrote the book to be able to hand it off to folks to say, “Here, you don’t need to take me to lunch; this is what I did.” The DiSC Profile System, the D-I-S and C, is a personality test common in business. Kevin is a high I and D, which means he is a driver and is concerned about how he is perceived by people. In the book, he is able to explain the backstory as to how he got to where he was, what his background was, and how it led him to come up with a different process that would help real estate people in sales.
Plot Twist
However, they found that almost everybody they gave the book to wanted to come to a class where they actually taught it. This led to the author offering a class on The Professional Referral Solution and exceeding the capacity of the room they had reserved to do it, leading to a follow-up class for those that couldn’t fit. He quickly realized that people were starving for this information and didn’t even realize it. The speaker had been teaching classes in five states and had an all-expense paid trip to Honolulu and Maui over the summer to teach this book. They were offered an all-expense paid trip to Honolulu and Maui, with airfare and hotel accommodations paid for. The speaker took their wife with them, and they got a vacation.
In Conclusion
By focusing on a clear niche and target audience, developing a strong brand message, and utilizing effective marketing strategies, coaches can attract clients who are a good fit for their services and build a thriving practice. Additionally, by building client relationships and providing value through coaching services, coaches can establish themselves as trusted experts.
For more on the conversation we had with Kevin, head over to the podcast.