How to Become a Trusted Advisor in Your Business – In Just 7 Minutes with Christopher Salem

Resources/Links:

• Want to know more on how to authentically and permanently increase your revenue? Click here: https://www.christophersalem.com/

Summary

Do you want to know what you can do to increase your revenue and make an impact on your KPIs without the stress?

Growing out your business won’t be possible if you’re not open to innovation and new ideas. Constant communication, openness to help, and removing ignorance can be your stepping stones to increasing your business growth, and revenue and becoming a trusted advisor in your business as well.

Christopher Salem is a Business Growth Strategist. His weekly radio show, Sustainable Success, is a part of the Voice of America Influencers Channel.

Watch out for Chris’ amazing insights and top tips on how you can increase your profit and grow your business by being a trusted advisor in your business.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:54 – Chris’ ideal client: My ideal client is going to be someone who is open-minded, number one, meaning that they know their business. They probably have a lot of experience but are open to new ideas.
• 02:24 – The problem he helps solve: The problem I solve is exactly that! Whatever could be better in their business. That could be revenue. That can be the net profit margin. A combination of both.
• 03:21 – The symptoms of the problem: There can be, obviously, that their revenue is stagnant. It hasn’t been growing. The net profit margin could stay the same or worse, regressing, compared to the average.
• 04:51 – Clients’ common mistakes before consulting Chris: It comes down to either– one, first lack of awareness or ignorance in itself. They’re not open to new ideas.
• 06:15 – Chris’ Valuable Free Action (VFA): I would say that first, look at whether their communication is working or not working. Could it be better?
• 07:10 – Chris’ Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Want to know more on how to authentically and permanently increase your revenue? Click here: https://www.christophersalem.com/
• 07:52 – Q: What is the number one key revenue and profit strategy that businesses should look at before deploying other revenue and net profit strategies? A: I’ll make it very simple. It is your unique market-dominating decision or a unique value proposition.

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“Everything starts with strong communication where it's not based on assumption and speculation, but when it's specific, clear, and concise.” -Christopher Salem Share on X

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:10
Hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. I’m Tom Poland beaming out to you from the very sunny Sunshine Coast here in Australia, joined today by Chris Salem. Chris, good day! A very warm welcome from Down Under, sir. Where are you hanging out?

Christopher Salem 00:23
Well, Tom, thank you so much for having me. I’m here in the New York City area of Connecticut, just about one hour, a little over an hour northeast of New York City.

Tom Poland 00:32
So you got the big smoke, and you got the country castles out there, as well. Have you?

Christopher Salem 00:37
Yeah.

Tom Poland 00:39
Both worlds?

Christopher Salem 00:40
Yes!

Tom Poland 00:41
Where were the Bridges of Madison County filmed? Was that in Connecticut somewhere?

Christopher Salem 00:44
Well, you know, there is a Madison Connecticut– believe it or not. But I don’t know if Madison, if that movie was filmed in Connecticut? Or maybe if it was, maybe- I’m not sure.

Tom Poland 00:55
It was probably filmed in New Zealand, and they pretended it was-

Christopher Salem 00:57
Yeah. But we have Madison, Connecticut. That is a town in Connecticut.

Tom Poland 01:03
It is a thing. All right! So yeah, it’s sort of a place where you get a lot of country bridges and nostalgic, whimsical sets for movies. But of the movies and on to you. For those of you who don’t know Chris, he’s a Business Growth Strategist. So he’s got a weekly radio show. Sustainable Success as part of the Voice of America Influencers Channel. He’s been around. He’s achieved some extraordinary things, keynoting with some of the biggest names in the business, and collaborating for books– all sorts of things! So Chris is a guy who really knows this stuff, and has a lot of insight into business growth, both at a strategic level, but also at a tactical level. Chris, it’s a pleasure to have you on the show today. The title is, “How to Become a Trusted Advisor in Your Business”. Our seven minutes is going to start now. Question number one, sir, who is your ideal client?

Christopher Salem 01:54
Well, my ideal client is going to be someone who is open-minded, number one, meaning that they know their business. They probably have a lot of experience, but are open to new ideas– ways that can better enhance what they’re doing to work on their business, rather than in it and looking for new ways to implement processes and systems to make them more efficient, more productive, and create more valuable customer experiences.

Tom Poland 02:20
Perfect. Thank you for that! Question two, what’s the problem you solve for them?

Christopher Salem 02:24
Well, the problem I solve is exactly that! Whatever could be better in their business. That could be revenue. That can be the net profit margin. A combination of both. And how that, when compounded correctly, can now increase their business to that next level, increasing their business valuation. So the problem I solve is the actual problem. That is the bottleneck to where they are and where they desire to be.

Tom Poland 02:50
Right. And so for that, there’s some sort of diagnostic that you jump into. Given that you’ve got this holistic and therefore very sensible approach to business growth, you’re not just looking at the issue in silos, but you’re looking at where the bottlenecks are because that could be different with businesses. So question three, therefore. Five and a half minutes left. What would you say are the typical symptoms of your clients? What’s going on in their business or their life that they’re experiencing before they find your solution?

Christopher Salem 03:21
Well, there’s a lot of different things! There can be, obviously, that their revenue is stagnant. It hasn’t been growing. The net profit margin could stay the same or worse, regressing, compared to the average. There is low retention. There is a lack of communication. Obviously, it impacts that retention issue, maybe there’s a higher absenteeism rate. And perhaps, if you’re looking at sales, their lead gen to conversions has not increased. So thus, meaning that their market-dominating position or unique value proposition is not as intact as they think it is. 98% of businesses think that they have that on the pack when it doesn’t reflect the lead gen metrics and KPIs and conversions to boot. So those are the things that typically are the symptoms of the problems.

Tom Poland 04:14
Flat revenue, right? That’s probably the big one and kind of a pin tail on the donkey, guessing as to why it’s flattened out. But you’re going to go in and apply a metric-based analysis of that to find out where the real issues are. You’re dealing with people who are very growth-orientated. They’ve got established businesses. They want to keep growing. They’re frustrated that things aren’t growing the way they used to. What I’m getting at here is they’re going to try stuff. Four minutes left. What would you say are the most common mistakes that people are making to try and grow their revenue but we’re just flat out never going to work?

Christopher Salem 04:51
Well, it comes down to either– one, first lack of awareness or ignorance in itself. They’re not open to new ideas. They’re so caught up in working in their business or in their role and duties and not open to utilizing resources. Or leveraging their weaknesses with other people in systems that can benefit them to pinpoint what these problems are, instead of making the same mistakes over and over again, being open for help.

Tom Poland 05:18
Would you say that they sometimes put more staff on to sort of solve the problem? Is that a common thing you see or boost?

Christopher Salem 05:26
Well, it could be that they could be utilizing the same people who are now leveraging their weaknesses rather than their strengths. They don’t have the right people and in harmony are certain processes that connect the dots to solve those mistakes. So they keep repeating them.

Tom Poland 05:45
So you’re also looking at the team members to see if they’re playing to their strengths?

Christopher Salem 05:49
Correct! Starts from the inside out with the leadership, engagement, communication, and getting that all intact. Yeah.

Tom Poland 05:56
And sometimes when you’re actually in the business, and you’re interacting with these people day in and day out, and you have done that for years– it’s very easy to develop blind spots. Let’s flip it! We’ve got two and a half minutes left, so a world of time. What would you say would be a valuable free action that someone listening to this could take? It’s not going to solve the whole problem, but it might take them a step in the right direction.

Christopher Salem 06:15
I would say that first, look at whether their communication is working or not working. Could it be better? Everything starts with strong communication where it’s not based on assumption and speculation, but when it’s specific, clear, and concise. Making sure that they’re having daily huddles to make sure that people are in alignment with what has to be enhanced and worked done to be better.

Tom Poland 06:39
That is a fabulous top tip! A daily huddle. How long does the huddle?

Christopher Salem 06:44
10 to 15 minutes tops!

Tom Poland 06:46
And just round the room? What are your priorities today? What are you working on?

Christopher Salem 06:49
What are your priorities? For you’re rolling-

Tom Poland 06:54
Oh, folks! That’s kind of like a booming top tip. Now, you might have heard that before, but you’ve got to ask yourself, are you doing it? Thank you, Chris! That’s a beauty. Question six, where can people go to find out more about what you do? A URL where they can go in and dive a bit deeper?

Christopher Salem 07:10
Well, you can go to the main homepage of my website, https://www.christophersalem.com/. And if you just scroll down slightly, you’ll see a section where you can put your name and email. And we’ll send you a free “Secrets to Becoming a Paid Speaker to 10x Your Business”, specifically for business leaders and people who use speaking to grow their business.

Tom Poland 07:32
Interesting! So folks, https://www.christophersalem.com/. Scroll down by a third of the way down the page, for exclusive free access today. Opt into that and find out some more information from Christopher on how to grow your business. So that brings us, sir, to question seven. 35 seconds left. What’s the one question I should have asked you but didn’t?

Christopher Salem 07:52
So what is the number one key revenue and profit strategy that businesses should look at before deploying other revenue and net profit strategies?

Tom Poland 08:02
20 seconds. I’d love to hear the answer!

Christopher Salem 08:04
Well, I’ll make it very simple. It is your unique market-dominating decision or a unique value proposition. When that is in alignment with the audience you served, that aligns with the problem they have that they don’t desire, speaks to the results that they don’t have, but they do desire. That’s what’s going to come first if you plan for lead gen going forward.

Tom Poland 08:26
Such a great reminder! And it’s so easy to lose focus on that essential value proposition. Chris Salem, thanks so much for your time and your insights!

Christopher Salem 08:35
Tom, thank you so much for having me on your show!

Tom Poland 08:39
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.