Podcast: Embed
“You need to have financial success in order to make a bigger impact in the world. We shouldn’t be ashamed of that.” – Dr. Shawn Dill
On a previous episode of the podcast, I interviewed Dennis Yu & Tristan Parmley from Chirorevenue on how they skyrocketed to 7-Figures in less than 6 months by using the Inception Method and aligning with a key influencer in their niche.
In this episode, we have the amazing opportunity to hear from Shawn Dil—the Influencer that they aligned with. He shares what the relationship looked like from his perspective and how you can align with similar coaches/consultations/experts in your niche to effectively grow your agency. You may be only ONE joint venture away from building a 7 Figure agency.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:24] The inception process from Shawn’s point of view
- [2:40] How Shawn built his core business
- [5:17] Don’t do cold outreach—build relationships
- [8:32] How the relationship with Dennis and Tristan was formed
- [18:04] Become relevant to the lighthouse first
- [20:40] Creating financial and time freedom for clients
- [24:32] Understand how the circle of relationships works
- [33:00] The three phases of building a relationship with an influencer
- [38:39] How to continually add value for your lighthouse
Don’t do cold outreach—build relationships
Shawn values long-term relationships. Not everyone does. He emphasizes that you need to ask yourself: are you in this for the long haul? As a digital marketer in it for the long-haul, a core value needs to be long-term relationships. You don’t want one-off clients. You want retention. You can’t build a long-term relationship sliding into someone’s DMs.
The majority of Millennials or Gen Z’s will meet their significant other through the internet. But you don’t just don’t say “Hey, I think we should get married.” You have to develop rapport and become relevant to the other person. You have to craft a great first impression. You can’t lead with what’s in it for you. You need to mine for information to figure out what the other party needs or wants.
How the relationship with Dennis Yu and Tristan Parmley was formed
One year ago, Shawn had zero clue who Dennis Yu was. He was having an issue with Facebook, so Shawn reached out to a friend who referred him to Dennis.
Dennis said, “Hey, If it would be helpful, I would be more than happy to come into your membership group and I could share this.” Shawn’s group members loved Dennis. So Dennis offered to come back to do part 2 and then part 3. He became relevant by providing massive value.
Up until this point, Dennis hadn’t made a single offer. He was just giving information and arming the members with just enough information to be dangerous to themselves. So Shawn told Dennis to make an offer. Dennis resisted, saying he had done 800 appearances and had never once sold from the stage. But Shawn urged him to do it. That day, he sold 70 packages of his digital plumbing from the stage. But to make that happen, he did about 5 months of rapport and relevance building before the offer.
During this time, Tristan had begun his hustle by working with a handful of clients within Shawn’s group. Both Dennis and Tristan had been able to offer help, offer their packages, and the group was consuming it. It didn’t feel like they were being sold. It was a natural relationship. Instead of competing, Dennis and Shawn decided to work together.
Then the three of them decided to form a joint venture together where everyone could benefit. One of Shawn’s strong principles is embracing the power of endorsement. An endorsement is more powerful than a testimonial. An endorsement comes from someone who already has credibility with an audience you’re trying to capture. So Shawn provides the endorsement for Dennis and Tristan.
But how did they get there? Because Dennis and Tristan provided value and became relevant to the lighthouse—Shawn—first.
Become relevant to the lighthouse first
It’s not always about solving the problem you usually solve. If you’re just there to help in any way you can, it shows you value the relationship. Shawn starts many posts by saying “We love getting gifts.” Giving appropriate gifts can open doors. Dennis is a huge fan of popcorn. So after doing the Facebook Live events, he sent Shawm popcorn machine.
An appropriate gift ensures that someone is going to post about it, tag the gift-giver, and strengthen the relationship. It is instant relevancy. Shawn shares that “You win by becoming relevant to as many people as possible by solving their problems, by being nice, by making connections, by appropriate giving. Once you are relevant, you are in the driver's seat to make an ask.”
How do they work to create financial and time freedom for clients? Why is it important? Listen to learn more!
Understand how the circle of relationships works
If you understand relationships and can build them you have the opportunity to leverage. Find what’s important to your lighthouse. Move your way into those circles. Ask: Who is your lighthouse? Who are they connected to? How can you approach them? What value can you provide to your lighthouse? How can you become relevant to initiate a relationship?
You need to take a strategic approach and layer it into your marketing agency. There are people that are highly influential in your space. What about someone who isn’t a consultant who yields influence? Shawn notes that we live in a very “swipe and deploy” world but there’s always more than one way to do something.
If Shawn wanted to target anyone who had a formal education, what about targeting retired professors? If Shawn could create a relationship with a professor and ask for their endorsement, how powerful would that be? There are so many angles you can take.
COVID placed an emphasis on relational capital. Money isn’t flowing as much as it was, but relational capital is still in play. Shawn emphasizes that “We should be shopping for relational capital.” If you were a realtor and wanted to gain more clients, target a divorce attorney. Most of them have property issues—either needing to sell a house or find a house.
Who yields in your industry over your target audience? How do you forge relationships with influencers who influence my target clients?
The three phases of building a relationship with an influencer
Shawn is looking for his joint ventures to continually provide value. Shawn emphasizes that there are three phases in the relationship-building process of a joint venture:
- The learning phase: Give your influencer/lighthouse time to learn your business and be patient. The lighthouse needs to understand what you’re doing (why you’re different, who you serve, what you’re helping them accomplish).
- The execution phase: The influencer wants to see your process in action. They want to see examples of how things are executed.
- The equity phase: Once they understand the process and have seen it in action, then you can discuss the compensation side. Shawn isn’t interested in affiliate marketing. It doesn’t compensate him enough for the work that he does. What’s far more interesting is equity. The more they sell, the more the value of the thing they’re invested in increases.
How do you continually add value for your lighthouse? How can your influencer provide value for you? How can you make an impact in the lives of others? Shawn delivers so much amazing insight in this episode. Do not miss it!
Resources & People Mentioned
- Chirorevenue
- Jay Abraham
- Dennis Yu
- SFA Interview with Tristan Parmley
- Book: Giftology by John Ruhlin
- Shawn & Lacey’s Book: None of Your Business
Connect with Dr. Shawn Dill
- The Black Diamond Club
- Shawn & Lacey’s Website
- Shawn’s Website
- Shawn on Facebook
- Shawn on Instagram
- Shawn on Twitter
- Shawn on LinkedIn
Connect With Josh Nelson
- Josh’s Coaching Page on Facebook
- The Agency Success Facebook Group
- www.SevenFigureAgency.com
- Seven Figure Agency on YouTube
- Josh on Twitter: @joshnelsonimc
- Josh on LinkedIn
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