Smart People Newsletter

STUFF I TELL SMART PEOPLE – Issue #04 – The Book Is Not the Asset (And Neither Are You)

The Book Is the Invitation, Not the Business

One of the most expensive misunderstandings smart consultants make is this:

They write a good book and expect it to sell itself; when it doesn’t, they think the problem is visibility.

It’s not visibility. It’s positioning.

A book is not:

• • A credibility flex

• • A brain dump of everything you know

• • A “legacy project” (unless you want to be remembered as confusing)

Your book is the invitation to your actual asset:

• • Your model

• • Your process

• • Your ability to solve a specific problem better than anyone else

Smart person trap: “If I show how clever I am, people will come.”
Better play: “If I solve a painful problem brilliantly, people will pay, refer, and stay.”

MINI ASSET: The Problem > Payoff > Path Slide

Instead of handing out the book at every talk or PDF opt-in, try this:

1. 1. Problem – Name the bleeding neck problem clearly and freshly
   2. Payoff – Paint the outcome: use results, emotions, stories
   3. Path – Show your model in 3–5 steps. Don’t teach it. Tease it.

Then, offer the book as a follow-up, not a front door.
Let the slide deck position.
Let the book nurture.

Want a done-for-you template? Reply and ask – I’ll send it with a bow.

DISASTER FARM UPDATE

One of the cats got wedged in the horse feeder again.
Not a metaphor… though if it were, it’d be about what happens when clever creatures put themselves in the wrong container.
Looks smart. Feels clever. Ends up covered in alfalfa.

It’s also how most authors use LinkedIn.

QUICK BRAG (ON BEHALF OF OTHERS)

Three of our authors have just been shortlisted for the Business Book Awards.
That kind of thing only happens if you do the unthinkable:
You write the book. You ship it. You submit it.
(Make a note: done beats perfect every time.)

Here are these fabulous authors:

• • Dr Emma Williams with Leaving Academia: Ditch the blanket, take the skills

• • David Pullan & Sarah Jane McKechnie with The DNA of Engagement: A story-based approach to building trust and influencing change

• • And Adam Samuel, with Compliance: A Short Book

COME TALK TO US ON LINKEDIN

Want to see how we frame ideas that actually land?
Check these out:

• • What if one stupid-simple question could get your book unstuck? → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-stupid-smart-question-moves-you-forward-debbie-jenkins-kr7af
    

• • You’re not stuck. You’re just coiled, waiting to push → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/safe-sinking-why-your-ideas-need-bigger-push-debbie-jenkins-ncmgf

Comment, lurk, or share them with the smartest person you know (besides yourself).

TL;DR

• • Books attract attention. Assets convert it.

• • Your model is the underused sales tool that can transform your business.

• • You don’t need more readers. You need the right ones, saying, “How do I work with you?”

• • Shortlist-worthy books don’t stay in your head.

See you next week.
Unless I rewrite my entire offer after a YouTube rabbit hole. Again.

Debs
– Strategic publishing for clever people who don’t want to shout