Expert Secrets: Russell Brunson - Summary & Analysis (1/5)
Expert Secrets is THE underground playback for creating a mass movement of people who will pay for your advice.
The author teaches a system called the Cashflow Quadrant. He explains that you are in one of four places in your work life.
you’re either an employee [ E ],
you’re self-employed [ S ],
you own a business [ B ],
or you’re an investor [ I ].
Most of us start out as E, and some never leave this stage. To become financially free, though, you must move through the quadrants and get to the business and investor stages as quickly as possible.
“People often ask me, ‘What does it take to make money?’ My answer is that it takes a dream, a lot of determination, a willingness to learn quickly, and the ability to use your God-given assets properly.”
The Two Types of Expert Businesses.
Expert Business #1: Selling Information Products.
It involves you taking the life lessons that you’ve learned, and packaging them into information products, coaching, and consulting. Being an expert and selling information products is (in my opinion) the greatest startup in the world. You don’t need venture or startup capital, just a passion for what you’re teaching, as well as learning how to tell stories in a way that will get others excited about it as well.
First, we become passionate about a particular topic. We study, we learn, we implement, but eventually we can’t grow anymore from study alone. We then shift our focus to helping others with what we have learned, and that contribution helps them, which in turn also helps us continue to grow.
Expert Business #2: Leveraging Information Products to Grow an Existing Company.
Each of our customers purchases an information product from us to start, and we actually make money on that first transaction. Later, we introduce those customers to ClickFunnels, making our cost to acquire a customer less than $0 — because we already got paid when they purchased our information products! We’re actually getting paid to acquire customers, which gives us the ability to acquire tens of thousands of customers.
Section 1: Creating Your Mass Movement.
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When I first started on this journey, I realized that if I was going to have success, I needed to focus first on building an audience of people I could share my message with.
Regardless of who I studied, I found three things in common:
They each had a charismatic leader or an attractive character
Each of them focused on a future-based cause that was bigger than themselves
They each offered their audience a new opportunity
Secret #1: The Charismatic Leader / Attractive Character.
When I look at all these amazing people changing the lives of tens of thousands (and in some cases millions) of people, almost all of them have felt an internal pull to want to serve and help people. It’s almost like a voice inside them telling them they are destined for greatness. Yet at the same time, they have this other voice that consistently tells them they’re inadequate, that they’re not enough. Not smart enough, not focused enough, not thin enough, not experienced enough, not good enough…
Whether you’re just starting this journey or you’ve been at it for a while, just know that the biggest hurdle you’re likely to face is being okay with positioning yourself as an expert.
You have the ability — and, I believe, the responsibility — to serve others with your gifts, whatever they are. Look at what comes easy to you and what you love to geek out on, and chances are that’s where your superpower is hiding, just waiting to be developed and shared with the world.
You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable person in the world on your topic, you just have to be one chapter ahead of the people you’re helping. There will always be people in the world who are more advanced than you. That’s fine. You can learn from them, but don’t let it stop you from helping the ones who are a chapter or two behind you.
“Don’t let (the fact that you aren’t the most knowledgable person in the world on your topic) stop you from helping those who are a chapter or two behind you”
Who do you want to serve?
If you’re going to start a mass movement and create a vehicle for change, the first question you have to ask yourself is “WHO do I want to serve?” The answer to that question is typically people who were just like you before you became an expert, right? As a charismatic leader, you’re going to lead people on a path you’ve walked before.
Most expert businesses are based on one of three core markets: wealth, health and relationships. Which one of these does your business match with?
Inside these three core markets are multiple submarkets. What submarket does your area of expertise fit right now? Some of you may think that you’ve found your answer. You’re a real estate expert, or a dating or weight loss coach. But the money is NOT in the submarket. The riches are in the niches. And those are one step beyond the submarket.
Look around at the other experts in your submarket and see what they are selling. Where do you fit into the ecosystem? What can you offer people that’s different and special?
The goal is to carve out a unique spot in that ecosystem where you can thrive. That’s your niche. And that niche is one of the keys to success as an expert.
In the book Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, they talk about the fact that most markets are red oceans, full of blood because of all the sharks feeding on the same small pool of fish. The submarket is a very red ocean, which is why it can be difficult to have success there.
The mistake many people make today is they start looking at the niches, find one that looks good, and start building their company from there. The problem is that jumping into an existing niche is stepping into someone else’s blue ocean. And if you are the third, fourth, or fifth person in that niche, then the waters are already starting to get bloody.
I suggest that you look at your submarket and try to create a new niche, a fresh blue ocean for yourself. Create a new opportunity for people so they’ll want to dive in. This is what I mean when I say you need to carve out your own spot in the ecosystem. If you jump into an already existing red ocean, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. But if you create a blue ocean, you will find success so much easier.
