Al McBride 0:01
Welcome to the dealing with Goliath podcast. The mission of dealing with Goliath is to sharpen the psychological edge in negotiation, ethical influencing and high impact conversations for business leaders who want to be more effective under pressure, uncover hidden value, and build greater connection, all while increasing profitability. This is the short form espresso shot of inside podcast interview to boost business performance using our five questions in around about 15 minutes format. Now my guest today is Jane Tabachnick.

Jane Tabachnick is an award winning book publishing and publicity consultant. She works with savvy entrepreneurs and enlightened professionals to help them become published authors and leverage their books to create greater visibility and both are book publishing and PR firm, simply good press right now. Helps experts go from idea to publish book and runs their book promotion campaigns. They also mentor authors on book Writing, Publishing and promotion. And she has helped over 200 authors reached bestseller status, named as one of the top 100 People online by Fast Company. Jane has been featured or quoted in clicks, ABC, CBS, NY enterprise report star ledger, environmental leader, CNN, spa magazine and the Houston magazine to name but a few. Jane is an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute in New York City, where she teaches sustainable design entrepreneurship. Jane, welcome to the show.

Jane Tabachnick 1:34
Thanks for having me out.

Al McBride 1:37
It’s an absolute pleasure. We were just talking before we hit record there. And I wish I wish we had to record because it doesn’t really interesting stuff. So let’s dive straight in. Who is your ideal client? And what’s the biggest challenge that they face?

Jane Tabachnick 1:51
Yeah, so my ideal client is a mission driven entrepreneur, CEO, consultant, coach, or sometimes a health professional, the biggest challenge they have is really twofold standing out above the noise, and also establishing a rapport and being trusted by their potential client or prospect. And what I like to say is, no one cares what you say about you, it’s what they say about you. So having some third party credibility is really key. And so if you can give people a good taste of you, and so you can build some know, like and trust, before you even interact with them. It goes a really, really long way.

Al McBride 2:38
Absolutely. I mean, this, we were talking about this before we hit record, but the book really is a fantastic way of doing that. And you mentioned, you know, people don’t even need to read the thing. I mean, it’s obviously better if they do. But even just being the one with the book tends to put you that little level above, doesn’t it in people’s perceptions.

Jane Tabachnick 3:00
Yeah, books really create a seismic shift for the author. And it’s pretty instant. As soon as people hear that you’re an author. before they’ve even looked at the book, read the book, seen how many reviews you have their perception of you just skyrockets and your credibility skyrockets, which is why I said they don’t even have to read the book. Hopefully they will. And you’ve done a great job, and they’ll get value and be even more compelled to want to work with you and connect with you.

But the book has that impact just by the fact of having been written by shaving that goal. It’s kind of like doing an ultra marathon. And I’ve done a I’ve done a marathon. I actually walked it, I didn’t run it, but But to me, like ultra marathoners are, you know, incredible, or people who do triathlons. And so just knowing someone completed it, I don’t need to know their time. I’m already sold on the fact that they’re just an incredible accomplished person athletes. So the same is true with a book.

Al McBride 4:07
It’s a great analogy. I’d never thought of that one before. But it’s true, isn’t it? Assuming 98% of people who actually actively start a book never actually finish it. So as you say, with the fact that you even have one, it has that credibility, particularly with people who have started and put it back on the shelf and give me anything of action. So absolutely, absolutely. So when people are trying to build his credibility, you know, what are some of the common mistakes people make when they’re trying to solve that problem?

Jane Tabachnick 4:37
I think there are a few mistakes. One of them is probably trying to be on too many platforms. You know, if you’ve been around this space for a while, as I’m sure everyone listening has you here, you need to be on this platform. You need to be on every platform. And that’s really not the case. You want to be where your audience is and also the platform that really works best As for you, like, I speak to a lot of people who don’t like being on camera don’t want to be on video. And if you really hate it, it’s probably going to come across, and it’s not going to be your best medium.

That said, I don’t believe that something you’re uncomfortable with is something that you should shy away from, it might be worth exploring whether you can learn to be comfortable on video, get coaching, get better lighting, better sound equipment, you know, there are things that you can do. And sometimes like writing is just a matter of practicing, getting more comfortable. And of course, I think we are our own worst judges. So worst critics, and the same is true for writing, I deal with this with my authors all the time.

So so the first thing is platform not to spread yourself too thin. The other thing is, I think really focusing on ourselves, instead of making the customer the hero of the story that’s from an and Lee. And I think that that’s a really key point to talk about the customer, and how you’ve helped them problems they have how you solve them. So shifting the focus, and making it relevant, and including that what’s in it for me, what’s in it for them. Focus really makes a difference. It’s easy, it’s easy. And I know I’m guilty of this, occasionally, I’m about to post something, I think Wait, got to shift the focus that the idea is good. But you know, because we live in our heads in our world in our business. So sometimes it’s just a question of making a little shift and how we’re presenting it. Same content, same idea, same golden nugget.

Al McBride 6:46
I couldn’t agree more. It’s, it’s, as you said, it’s the most crucial thing I think are usually important in communication or in negotiation. It’s not about you, it’s about your audience. It’s about, as you say, understanding the pictures in their head, how they see the world. And speaking to that. And that’s when you can usually get through to people. Absolutely. It just just to see if people are then going Yes, I get a chain, this is a great idea. I’ve been meaning to write a book, or they’ve started to write a book and you think good for you brave move, you know, what are the benefits in having structure around that and working with for example yourself in, in helping them write that book?

Jane Tabachnick 7:28
Yeah, so you know, again, it’s easy to be in your own head about things and not always have like, a fresh perspective and outside perspective. But also, if you’ve never written a book, there are things you just wouldn’t know. And while it’s easy in theory to self publish, it’s actually a pretty steep learning curve. And I suspect most of the people listening have or all the people listening have spent a good amount of time building their brand, curating their brand, and really are very particular about that brand. And you really don’t want to put out something that isn’t as high quality as your brand.

You can’t, this is a US ism, so forgive me, but you can’t attract Neiman Marcus clients with Kmart type quality. So you can’t put out a book that is not good quality, whether it’s the cover image, the title isn’t just spot on the content itself, and attract those high paying clients that you’re looking to attract it just they’re going to feel a disconnect, even if they can’t put their finger on it. So working with a coach, you really will spend the time to fine tune your idea get total clarity on who the audience is, what stage of their business they’re in.

So for example, if you’re writing a book on finance, for small businesses, a startup has different needs than a 10 year old business. So you really want to be clear of not just who the target is, but where they are in their business, physical, mental, whatever aspect of their personal development or business development you’re speaking about. So you want to be really on point with that, and really understand what experience you want the reader to have, what kind of transformation?

Do you want them to learn something, get a taste of your methodology, get inspired, open up new ways of thinking solve a problem. So deciding all of these things really makes a difference in not just knowing what you want to write, but actually writing it you’re so crystal clear that I don’t want to say it writes itself. I’m not gonna say it’s just, you know, snap your fingers and you’ve got a book magically done, it’ll be worked, but it’s just so much easier when you got total clarity of what should be in the book, what to write and then and then it does flow.

Al McBride 9:55
That’s a superb point. I love the way you point at that. You know, if you’re going And alone, you have so many blind spots, as you said, which, as you said, we’re working with someone who has experience of, I mean, you mentioned on your podcast, you know that one of the great mistakes is, for example, using a graphic designer, so you think I have this beautiful little cover, but it’s not.

It’s not someone who’s experienced in book cover design. And that’s a, that’s a niche. That’s, that’s necessary in itself. So that actually, as you say, works on Amazon, it works on the digital, it works on the, on the printed version, there’s so many of these little traps that people can fall into if they’re trying to go in alone. So I’d imagine an awful lot of your clients helped me write the book far faster than they probably expect, because they have this structure.

Jane Tabachnick 10:44
I’m not sure if any of them would say it’s faster.

Al McBride 10:48
Okay, I would imagine because, you know, from the podcast, I get the impression that you give people this lovely structure in the breakdown so that they’re rarely staring at a blank white page on the screen. You know, they, they know what they’re doing every day.

Jane Tabachnick 11:03
Yes, I do think it helps. I was making a joke. You know, I think people feel like things always take longer than they think it will. And as busy people, both business wise, with multiple interest and a personal life trying to maintain some balance, writing a book is an undertaking. And so it it takes time. I don’t think anyone feels it goes fast.

Al McBride 11:25
Absolutely, absolutely. So what is one valuable free action that the audience could implement? That may not solve the problem, but will at least point them in the right direction?

Jane Tabachnick 11:37
Yeah, so I think it’s great to think about, if you’re going to write a book, what book would that be? And and think about, not just, I mean, you can pull a lot of ideas. But think about back to your audience, what would they get from that book? And what would they be compelled to do after reading it? Would they say I need to hire owl, or I love owls methodology, I want to go read all his blog posts.

So just think about what kind of result you’d want to have, and what kind of experience that would create both for your prospect or reader and for your interactions. And I think it can start to get exciting when you think about it that way. And it can start to help you shape up what the book could look like, and what it could be.

Al McBride 12:32
Absolutely. And this was touching on something we were talking about, before we went into the recording that what I love about your ideas that as you said, it helps people just as you said they’re develop their methodology, make it topic clear, there’s something I’m always saying to my clients is, what is your point of differentiation? You know, how do you because other people are usually trying to commoditize you whether they mean to or not? How do you make sure that they can compare apples to apples? It’s always apples to oranges. And one way is that book, and in that book, as you said, is that little clarifications of your methodology? What makes you unique, that’s hugely powerful. Hugely.

Jane Tabachnick 13:12
Yeah. You know, the other thing is that the process of writing something, and the process of what I call the book blueprint, getting that clarity, going through the process of thinking through who your audience is, what experience you want them to have, sometimes helps my clients actually realize they do have a unique methodology. Sometimes we come up with a name for it, because it can be really fun, and can be powerful to have a name for your process. And so sometimes they get clarity, they’ve just been going about their work, they’ve been having success, and they never really thought about perhaps what the process is, and how their prospect can relate to it by giving it a name or being able to describe it in a clear way without getting technical.

Because that’s, that’s not usually what you want to do in the book or an initial contacts that you know, that can come initial conversations that can come later. But it really can help the author get that clarity about their own process, which is like, Oh, wow, it’s kind of a revelation. And that’s kind of exciting to see happen. And then sometimes that leads to other things that we can do. So one of the things that I do with my authors, which is important, the book, obviously on its own is an incredible, as I said it creates a seismic shift in the business.

But we also like to look at the opportunities to monetize the book, it’s going to be something that is going to help attract opportunities to the author. But I like to set out the intention in advance so we can plan the book to create some of that monetization and by understanding your process, and even naming it sometimes it It’s clear that there is a course that can be developed out of that. And a training or one of my clients created a certification based on her book. And it was not something that would have been easy to launch without the book.

Because as you can imagine if she has an established consulting practice lovely client base, and as you just said, we’ve launched a certification be like, Okay, that’s nice. But when, especially with new prospects, you say, we’ve got a certification based on our book, that is, again, another level of credibility and positioning. That is definitely a few cuts above. Yeah, so. Yeah.

Al McBride 15:44
So what is one valuable free resource that you could direct people to that will help them?

Jane Tabachnick 15:50
Yeah, so I have a podcast, which I was good enough to mention, which is called the self publishing blueprint, which is at the self publishing blueprint.com. It’s a very short 10 part podcast series, which talks about the process of getting clear on your book idea and writing your book. And even if you’re not ready to do it yet, you might consider having a listen, because I think it’ll spark some ideas about the book and perhaps about other content that you’re putting out there.

Al McBride 16:23
Most definitely, as I said, I’ve been listening through it over the last few days. And it is superb, it’s wonderfully concise, and it moves along at a great pace. And, as you said, it sparks an awful lot of thinking an awful lot of an awful lot of ideas and possibility. So it’s really excellent stuff. So I can’t recommend it more. It’s the self publishing blueprint.com. And you can get in there, but you can also just search for that on Apples, or we’re on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast. So just to finish off, so what would be one question I should have asked you that will be of great value to the audience.

Jane Tabachnick 17:01
Yeah, so a great question is what can you you’re not planning to write your book today. Or even if you are planning to write your book today, what can you do to enhance your positioning? And I would say one great thing to do is what I call borrowing other people’s audiences. So you may have a blog that’s got great content. But the people who see it are people who already know about you. And as I mentioned earlier, no one cares what you say about you. They care what other people say about you that third party credibility that helps drive Airbnb, and any webs Amazon, any site that relies on reviews, because that’s how we operate these days, right? You’re looking for good restaurant, what do you do you call a friend, you look online for reviews. So people do that with consultants, as well. So borrowing other people’s audiences can be getting on a podcast as a guest. It can be writing a blog post or an article that you publish on another website. And medium is a great website published on because it’s free, and you don’t need approval. But there are any number of other places LinkedIn can also be a great place someone else’s newsletter. So the idea behind it, just to reinforce what everyone is probably already thinking is, someone has built an audience, and they’ve got the trust of this audience. So the benefit to this is that you don’t have to build the audience, you’re just showing up, there’s a ready made audience which, if you’ve done your homework, it’s a fit for you it it, at least, is speaking to some of your ideal target audience. But also you’re borrowing the authority and credibility of the podcast hosts the blog or website that you’re putting the content on. Because most pas cast hosts are pretty fussy about who their guests are. So if you’re on their podcast, they’ve selected you, They vetted you. So borrowing other people’s audience already establishes that you’ve been vetted and you’re credible, and it’s free visibility in front of a new audience. And then to take it a step further, you want to have some ways to engage with them some to continue building that relationship. So it could be a freebie like my self publishing blueprint, podcast, or it could be some kind of a giveaway, or something that you can offer them without being salesy. Just, this is a great resource you might want to check out, etc.

Al McBride 19:36
It’s fantastic, fantastic stuff, as I said, So where can people find you? And if they want to learn more, we mentioned the self publishing blueprint.com To listen to that podcast. Are you active on LinkedIn? Where can people reach out to you find you?

Jane Tabachnick 19:52
Yes, I’m on LinkedIn, and I’m on mobile social platform. I know don’t be on all of them. LinkedIn And and Facebook and my website which is at simply good press.com

Al McBride 20:06
Okay good presser calm and I have here also chain tobacco connect.com

Jane Tabachnick 20:11
Yes, simply good press is easier to spell. The same, they go to the same

Al McBride 20:18
place. Excellent stuff. Excellent stuff. Jane. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Jane Tabachnick 20:25
Thank you for having me out.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai