Will a bestselling book get me clients?

by bm2
8 replies
Hy,
Will a bestselling book get me clients for my consulting practice.OR will that only work to position me as an expert?
#bestselling #book #clients
  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    How long is a piece of string? It's impossible to say without knowing so much more, and even then, there are no guarantees.
    Signature

    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11246987].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Will it GET you clients?

    Nope.

    Will it help you develop authority, and if executed well join the conversation going on in your target customer's mind, and help differentiate you from everyone else?

    Yes.

    Dan Kennedy has a book about the power of being a book author. It's called Book the Business. I have a hardcopy and have made use of it.

    At TCE, we work with an expert couple who are true producers of best selling Amazon authors...and I don't mean some BS flash in the pan "I was a bestseller for a day" nonsense. I mean longevity. Books that stay on the top of the list for many months. The strategies they teach are different than any other "I'll make you a bestseller" coach I've encountered. So it's not just about having a book and having that shiny bestseller sticker.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11247001].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author quadagon
    It is definitely possible to get clients straight from a book - if you know what you are doing.

    For two of my clients our entire business strategy with them is simply to get books in the hands of their target audience.

    We know that if we give out 100 books 'x' amount will read it and from those a certain percentage will call.

    From those that call we close at around 87% on one campaign and 73% on the other.

    We don't run any email capture or sales funnel on prospects (other than the book).

    The success comes from

    a). laser targeting the right people.

    Rather than going for mass appeal we want to get the book into the hands of potential customers and narrower than that the defined target market. We've built up a persona where we know not only the demographics of our audience but also have indicators of where they are in the buying journey.

    This is one reason why we dont bother with 'best seller' labels for these clients.

    If you have a wide appeal it may be beneficial. Truth is all bestseller ranks can be gamed - even the NYT bestseller list only needs about 70k to game at the right time of year.

    b). the book has to fulfil numerous objectives.

    The book has two main purposes to attract the ideal customer and repel everyone else.

    Those that we attract we want to take on a journey where they are presold on the offer, have already had the main objections handled and are ready to make a commitment.

    This isn't easy and requires use of every part of the book (preface, title, chapter headings, pictures).

    The biggest challenge is making sure that the book isn't just one long sales letter.

    The best way we've tackled this is to structure the books around the hero's journey. This way we are telling a dramatic tale but also the book is doing what we need it to.

    Diet books are often really good at doing this with a loose structure around:

    show someone where they are at,
    what would happen if they continue this way
    the desire to change
    the offer of help
    refusing the offer
    trying to change by themselves
    small victory and large losses
    despair that they can't change and about to give up
    resurrection of offer to help and nothing left to loose
    miracle transformation

    Throw in some before and after success stories, testimonials (especially ones that incorporate objections), some quick wins and how to tips and you are onto a winner.

    The eagle eyed will notice how easy it is to graft a SPIN sell into these pages.I

    So its definitely possible.

    Can you do it?

    I have no idea and there isn't enough in your post to give specific help.
    Signature
    I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11247024].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author franamico
    I think both but you only get clients if you know how to reach them.
    These days, people like Frank Kern are reaching people using Fb advertsing...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248022].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by bm2 View Post

    Will a bestselling book get me clients for my consulting practice.OR will that only work to position me as an expert?

    A few things:

    1. What is a best selling book? As others have pointed out, some authors claim to be "best sellers" because their masterpiece reached the top of their sub-sub-sub niche at Amazon for a few minutes and then plummeted quickly into obscurity. So what is your definition of "best seller?"

    2. Will it get you clients? That's doubtful unless you actively promote your consulting practice and set up a lead generation system you can execute right along with your book sales. IMO, converting book buyers into eager consulting clients is a big step. Spending a few bucks on a book without any commitment is quite different that employing a consultant for (probably) multiple large payments and extended time commitment.

    3. Just having a book does not guarantee you expert status. It can certainly help - but you have to prove your status over time and merely hoping that people will see you as an expert is not enough. You will need to get out into your marketplace and help others, show them how to solve their problems, and give them answers specific to their own situation. Anyone can hire a ghostwriter to produce a book with their name on it. Does that mean that the book buyer is an expert?

    So yes, being the author of a value-laden book in your niche can certainly help, but IMO that isn't enough to cement your status as an expert.

    Writing about something is different in many ways from having the ability to change lives for the better with hands-on custom and personal solutions to ongoing problems and needs.

    Good luck to you,

    Steve
    Signature

    Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
    SteveBrowneDirect

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248059].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author troy23
    It probably will, but it does not have to be best selling.
    I got great traffic from putting ebooks I have written on the free ebook & document sharing sites.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248602].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    If you have a best selling book then you should know if it is sending you customers. If you don't, what's the point of your question? You can't just sit down and write a "best selling" book. It doesn't happen like that. Are you a previous "best selling" author? Do you people know your name as an eagerly anticipated writer in your field? Do you have thousands of people hanging on your every word?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248622].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    As Quadagon pointed out above, you need to be strategic to get the results you want.

    A business author who got on Oprah generally got no business benefit from it. That is not their target audience. On the other hand, people who published a quality book that didn't sell well could get clients by getting the book into the hands of the right people.

    It goes back to the fundamentals of marketing: Know your audience, target your audience and forget about numbers that are irrelevant to your true goal.

    Marcia Yudkin
    Signature
    Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248645].message }}

Trending Topics