Download Now!
It’s easy to think that some people are naturally very influential, when in reality influence is about skills. We can learn how to increase our influence, and it’s a good thing to want more influence. But how long does it really take to influence someone?
How long does it take to influence someone? -How long? So, Nate you talk about influence a fair amount. I mean we both talk about it. But I hear you talk about it especially in terms of video content. Talk to me a little bit about how you approach influence building. -So, for me, I love making a difference in someone else’s life. And I really just enjoy being around influencers. And so it’s really cool that I get to be influential to other influencers and the more that they influence the more fulfillment I get, it’s a lot of fun. So, I mean I love having you on my YouTube channel here. I mean she wrote the book on influence. We’re having so many conversations so it’s fun that I get to kind of share my model about influence because I see influence with 4 different stages. At least that’s what I’ve experienced. -Sure. 1, when I talked to people I mean I’ve put on retreats or if I speak from the stage. And people tell me afterwards, “Wow, that was really good.” Okay, I’m going to get a sense of fulfillment out of that. I’ve influenced them. Maybe I’ve helped them feel better. Or I’ve helped them feel inspired. But that only goes so far. That kind of… can fade out. -Sure. -Right? And so, level 2 of influence is when I’ve been able to teach somebody something that they then go and they act on it. They implement it. You know, so if I spoke one day and a week later, they’re still acting on it. Like, “Wow, I’ve impacted their lives.” I really influenced them. Level 3 is where those actions that they’re taking actually get them results. Because how many times do people give advice and advices followed but it just creates busyness? It doesn’t create results. Unfortunately, it happens way too often expense. Especially in the YouTube world. I see there… The social media world, I see people doing activities there following advice all day long but they’re not really getting results. I saw that myself. I saw that myself even with retreats that I was putting on. It’s like how come these participants of my retreat aren’t making YouTube videos? How come they’re not YouTube sensations now? They should be. -Yes. -So, I started taking my clients from start to finish holding their hand saying, “I’m going to help you with every step along the way.” And I love what I do when they’re getting results. -Yeah. -And I see… I feel so good about it. -Right. -And that helped me recognize a 4th step because once that started happening, not only have I impact that their lives in a positive way because they’re getting results. But then other people start seeing the results. And it comes back to me in the form of referrals. So they’re getting enough results that other people are seeing it. And it grows my business in another way. So, if I’m measuring how much influence have I made on the world, what type of impact. If I’m starting to get referrals coming back to me, that’s a good sign that I’m at a level 4 influence. Assuming. So, that’s how I look at influence. And so the question of this video, “How long does it take?” I’m curious what your thoughts are on that. -Well… You know, I don’t think there’s necessarily one hard and fast number. And I think it’s different on every platform. You know, whether you’re building influence through an inbox, through YouTube videos, through Instagram. The amount of time it’s going to waver a little bit. But I think the most important thing to realize is that it doesn’t happen overnight. -Definitely not on YouTube. -No. And it’s hard because a lot of times people share the highlight reel. Whether that’s offline or online on different social media platforms or on their website and things like that. The reality is that that’s the highlight reel. And they don’t… They don’t show necessarily all of the grind and all the hard work that built up to that success. We see those little snippets of some of the success and we think, “Gosh. I wish I could be there.” But the reality is that’s there chapter 100. And we’re at chapter 1. And so for us, we have to do that hard work too. And so, it’s going to take time. And it’s going to take time for people to go through, you know, your four stages of influence or anyone else’s definition of influence. It’s going to take people whole time to build that trust just from hearing you talk about what works, to trying it and seeing that I’m getting a little bit of success. To trying it and sticking with it and getting a lot of success, to seeing other people getting results too. It’s going to take time for them to implement all of that. And for that cycle to continue on. But I think one of the things that I’ve found to be most beneficial is that if you stick with it long enough, it becomes like a snowball rolling down a hill. It just starts getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And I found that over the years, the longer I have stayed consistent with my zone of expertise the more and more people keep coming back and new people keep coming to me. And I keep wondering where are these people coming from? But I do believe it’s that snowball effect. Just building upon itself. -Yeah. I really appreciate that. But with YouTube it’s definitely a long-term game. But it does work so well. With one video you can influence somebody. I mean, we can film a single YouTube video post it to YouTube and it can have a significant influence. You know, if we look at the 4 different stages that I described, most of the time it’s only going to be beginning level of influence. It’s going to be rare so that the longer we’re at, the more videos we create, the more content or training or help we put out there. The more likely we’re going to be down here to the level 4. I just thought of an example of a big-time level 1. So, my friend Paul Jenkins. We produce a channel for him –Live On Purpose TV. We created a video “How to help a friend who’s suicidal?” That video save lives. -Wow. So, it’s… I mean there’s huge power in an individual YouTube episode. But as he’s… And so he saved lives, he’s helped people with parenting skills just on a short-term basis. So for me, on one sense that’s really encouraging to know that you know, we make one video, we’re already having an impact. We’re already making a difference. But to really build a tribe to really build a following, to really help people get long-term results, let’s be patient. -Yeah. Well, I think it’s important too to think through the concept of what your big picture goal is and then those micro conversions along the way. -Hmm. -There are steps along the way that you can celebrate in success of building your influence. You may not have the huge following yet or that huge video that gets you all sorts of traffic and allows you to, you know, sit back and relax for the rest of your life. But you know, you can celebrate the little wins along the way. And those things like one video that’s saving people’s lives. You can really celebrate that. So, Nate. With your experience on YouTube, how much time are you seeing it take people to really build up that influence on YouTube specifically? -Good question. Typically about a year. And that’s a year we’re doing 5 episodes a week. -That’s a lot. -It’s a whole lot. And for those of you watching, Valerie and I, we’re filming 20 episodes today. -Yeah. -We’re filming 20 episodes tomorrow. So that gives us 8 weeks worth of content. So that’s a whole lot. We have to do it in batches like that to even manage that. -Right. -At 4 months… So, if you go five episodes a week on YouTube, at 4 months, YouTube will start to promote your content and you’ll see a spike. So, you’ll have gradual growth and that for months, you’ll see a spike. And you’ll get clients, you’ll get leads coming in from that. But really, it’s at that 12 month mark where there’s a significant amount of momentum. So, with the with a YouTube strategy like this plan on a year. -Wow. -So, as you can tell, Valerie has a wealth of knowledge of influence. She’s put it on her book. We’re all ears. Look it up on Amazon. Her last name is Morris. And you’ll definitely enjoy it. It’s one of my favorites. Be sure to subscribe. We’ll see you tomorrow.