My friend, colleague and sometimes coach, Steve Harrison, recently invited me to participate in his Fall National Publicity Summit. My first reaction was skepticism. As nicely as I could, I explained my feeling that the media messaging sounds increasingly anti-Christ these days. I asked, “Do you think anyone would be interested in interviewing the author of a book about Jesus and sales?”
(I should have had a clue right then that I was being set up for God to teach me something. Ye (me) of little faith…)
In his typical, kind demeanor, Steve’s response was gentle yet compelling. He told me the story of another Christian author who had landed 8 appearances as a result of participating in the Summit this past March. That got me curious. It didn’t take long for me to say “yes” and start the training process to hone my media “pitches” (which are VERY different from the sales technique I teach).
Fully prepped and somewhat apprehensive, at the end of the publicity course I met with 80+ people from radio, TV, podcast and print media sources. The experience was overwhelmingly positive, and the results, surprising! I learned:
• How to craft compelling, 45-second messages and customize them for different audiences;
• To be more confident in front of the camera; how to dress, stage my background, show appropriate passion and engage the media on my own terms;
• That just because someone wants you on their show doesn’t mean it’s good for you; I learned to say no to things too far off my topic;
• To be uncompromisingly me and unashamed of my message: and
• So much more, but I want to keep this short.
My results so far include booking 10 podcast appearances and 3 publications interested in my story. I continue to follow up with another dozen people and fully expect more engagements to be booked.
One article was already published in the Union Square Times Town News (NY). It’s called, “How did Jesus Sell Eternal Life, Salvation?” What? The whole thing was the writer’s idea. She made it all about Jesus. Wow. I could feel the sweet conviction from the Lord as if he was saying, “See? When you leave the results to me this is what happens!”
As I look back on my experience, I realize I was using one of the key principles I teach in Chapter 2 of SELL LIKE JESUS. It’s that everything begins with mindset. We have to shift the way we think before we can expect to get different results.
My skepticism has been erased. It’s replaced with a renewed commitment to keeping an open mind and letting God do what He does so well. I show up, do the work, and He moves mountains on my behalf. I’m know that He will continue to surprise me as more interviews hit streets.
Thank you, Steve, for the opportunity.
Grateful #Hopefilled #Humbled
P.S. If you’d like to speak to Steve to get more details about his National Publicity Summit send me an email. I’ll make an introduction so you can explore and see if it is right for you and your business.