Becoming A Voice Of Value

With so many people and so many things competing for our attention, just keeping up with all that’s coming in can feel overwhelming.

We may feel the need to keep up with it all to be properly informed and up-to-date.

Certainly, there’s a satisfaction in feeling like you’re across everything. Yet enormous chunks of time are taken up by consuming content from various sources including books, blogs, videos, email lists, magazines, news outlets, etc.

Information triage has become a vital skill. The late great Jim Rohn said it well:

Don’t spend most of your time on the voices that don’t count. Tune out the shallow voices so that you will have more time to tune in the valuable ones.

Lately, I’ve been doing just that. Reducing the number of “voices” I listen to so that I can spend more time going deeper with the voices that count the most. But more importantly, I’ve been working on BECOMING a voice of value.

What sets Apart Successful Entrepreneurs from The Wannabees?

One of the major distinctions between successful entrepreneurs and “wantrepreneurs” is that successful entrepreneurs are predominantly content creators whereas wantrepreneurs are predominantly content consumers. Even more than just content creators, successful entrepreneurs are often prolific content creators.

Finding Inspiration

To become a voice of value, you need to have valuable ideas and rarely do valuable ideas come from nowhere and interrupt you. By seeking out voices of value – thought leaders in and out of your industry, mentors, coaches and successful peers, you lay the foundation for building your own valuable ideas.

This type of self-education is the most valuable type of education I know of. Yet it’s important not to let too many voices in, however tempting that may be a few voices who speak from experience and first-hand knowledge are infinitely more valuable than a multitude of voices that speak from theory and opinion.

While neither theory or opinion are bad in themselves, rarely do I find voices of value from sources that haven’t been where I want to be.

Becoming a Voice Of Value in Your Market

The days of high-pressure selling tactics are fast coming to an end, if they haven’t already. In an age where everyone is connected and everyone has access to almost all the available information, the most valuable commodity is reputation.

The reputation economy requires that you transform your marketing from just information and high-pressure sales tactics to education-based marketing. The point of education marketing is twofold.

Firstly, it’s about positioning yourself as an authority in your target market. Everyone wants to hear from an authoritative source. By being a content creator, you position yourself as an authority and expert in your niche.

Secondly, it’s about building relationships – becoming the trusted advisor to your target market rather than just a salesperson. By regularly releasing valuable, educational content to your target market, you lay the foundation for a relationship – and after all who would you prefer to buy from, a trusted source who has been giving you a lot of value or a stranger who wants to make a quick sale?

It's Time To Develop Your Voice Of Value

Becoming a voice of value is hard work and it takes time, but the time invested will pay dividends. In the reputation economy you can’t afford to be a commodity or another “me too” type of business.

What can you do to start being a voice of value in your market? Could you start a blog? A mailing list? A monthly newsletter? Regular YouTube videos?

Any one of these things could be the start of you becoming a voice of value to your marketplace. Certainly doing so will set you far apart from your competitors who are still stuck on the selling tactics that are no longer working.