HSH 031: A Fresh Spin on Getting Publicity and Creating Value with Selena Soo
Selena Soo is a business and publicity coach working with entrepreneurs who have personal brands. She helps coaches, consultants and service providers grow their brands and businesses by having them be seen as leaders in their respective industries. Today, Selena joins us to give her expert perspective on how you can leverage connections with influencers to do the same!
According to Selena an influencer is “someone who you admire and who can help your reach your goals.” She notes that there are many different types of influencers; he or she could be a coach, mentor, or even someone who is a supporter or fan of yours.
“It’s not just people that are at the top of the industry; there’s many different types of influencers who can help you in different ways.”
It’s important to understand that everything you want in life and business comes through other people.
“(In business) a potential client is going to learn about you from someone else; when you have the right people in your corner, you can just grow your business so much more quickly.”
Selena adds that people tend to overlook relationship building as they’re so focused on just getting clients and making more money.
“There’s this foundation that you need, and that’s relationships with other people”
I agree with her and don’t believe that building relationships is self-serving, because the other person needs connections too. (Zach)
She does believe that you need to come from a genuine place though, and that there has to be natural synergies between the two people.
"If there's someone you're drawn to, there's a reason for it."
The secret to getting influencers to care about you is to care about them first. Express it to the influencer, and let them know what effect he or she has had on you. If you’re someone who appreciates and admires the work and has benefitted from it, they do want to hear from you.
“"That's actually what they live for -- to create results in people's lives"”
Being vague won’t get you noticed, and you will most likely will have to go a step further and share a specific action that you took from their course, product or content. Having a link to your website in your email signature is a good idea to have as well.
“If they don’t remember you, then you’re not really building a relationship”
This process is actually how I originally connected with Selena; by approaching her at a live event to tell her how much I appreciated her work and what it’s done for my business. This has led to a mutually beneficial relationship, with cross-promotion opportunities. (Zach)
Selena notes that if you’re unable to attend a live event, for financial reasons or time constraints, or you don’t live in a large urban center, you can still effectively build connections online, particularly by joining a Facebook group. Once there, you should introduce yourself and explain a little bit about what you do, as well as participate by asking questions. She did this and one person from the group ended up being her very first client! Selena also says that group programs are great to join, as you will find people that have common goals, and are focused on helping each other.
I always tell my students if they join a course and it costs extra to be in the group, pay to be in the group. Remember, the people in these groups today are the influencers of tomorrow! (Zach)
Selena is a big fan of the “Star Student Strategy.” Course creators are always looking for people that they can promote as success stories.
“There’s a huge opportunity for someone to receive the best publicity you can get”
In the past, I (Zach) joined a program created by Amy Porterfield, which led to big results in my business. I was dedicated to being a top student, and upgraded to fill a vacancy in the group. I actively shared my successes (and failures!) with members of the group, supported others and most importantly, I let Amy know of my results.
I pitched her assistant to be on her popular podcast, explaining that I would show all the ways that the interview could highlight the value of her program. This process took three months, along with multiple follow-ups, but I did appear on the show and it led to an immediate growth of over 1,000 extra email subscribers to our list, as well as an additional $10,000 revenue for our business!
Selena advises people to be intentional with who you want to approach and invest your time and energy into building a relationship with. However, relationships are also organic and sometimes you can’t control, or force them to happen.
“It’s not necessarily that you did anything wrong, but relationships are a two-way street”
She encourages others to create a list of influencers and not just target a few people; a list of twenty people that you’d like to connect with is a great place to start.
Selena sees people neglecting to think of who are the “rising stars” in the industry. The advantage of approaching these people is that they often check their own email and you won’t have multiple assistants to go through.
“It’s ok to reach for the stars, but you don’t want to just focus on the most famous people”
I remind people that it is key to remember that rejection is just part of the game and the connections that you make won’t always open the doors that you expect them too. (Zach)
Selena mentions that you have to be patient, and realize that you have a lifetime to build a relationship.
“As I grew my business, did cool stuff and made a difference in the world, people were naturally drawn to me.”
If someone says “no” right now, it doesn’t mean that you’re permanently rejected, but maybe now just isn’t the right time for the person (this is just an opportunity to connect with even more amazing people)! (Zach)
Selena thinks that we need to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and realize just how busy the top entrepreneurs really are. Realize that it’s not a personal thing and people are really doing the best that they can, but there’s only so much they can do with the time that they have available. The lesson here is to not overthink things and take them so personally!
According to Selena, the one thing that people can do in the next week to gain forward momentum in their business is to give 10 compliments to others. This could be in the form of a note, Facebook message, post in a group or email.
“Reach out to people and let them know that you appreciate them”
For her, the word “hustle” means doing whatever it takes to reach your goals.
Selena’s signature course, “Influence: Turn People You Admire Into Friends, Mentors and Clients” is opening soon.
“I really believe that the most rewarding thing that we have in our lives is our relationships with other people.”
RESOURCES:
*Selena’s free gift, her 31-page report taking you behind the scenes of how she grew her business