The Russell Brunson Show - 10X Your Income When You Become A Specialist

Episode Date: June 27, 2018

The interesting truth behind what happens when you shift from being a generalist to a specialist. On this episode Russell talks about how he struggled to grow his business until he was able to specialize on a particular piece of it. He also gives examples of other people he knows who have been able to do the same thing. Here are some of the other awesome things to look forward to in this episode: Find out why being a "jack of all trades" isn't good for growing your business. Why being the funnel guy has helped Russell become even more successful. Find out how you can become a specialist in a tiny piece of your market and why that will 10x your business. So listen here to see why it's good to be a specialist. Transcript - https://marketingsecrets.com/blog/10x-your-income-when-you-become-a-specialist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With TD Direct Investing, new and existing clients could get 1% cash back. Great! That's 1% closer to being part of the 1%. Maybe, but definitely 100% closer to getting 1% cash back with TD Direct Investing. Conditions apply. Offer ends January 31, 2025. Visitunson. Welcome to the Marketing Secrets Podcast. So excited to have you guys here tonight. I've got something really fun I want to share with you. So the big question is this. How are entrepreneurs like us, who didn't cheat and take on venture capital, who are spending money from our own pockets, how do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we believe in out to the world, and yet still remain profitable?

That is the question, and this podcast will give you the answer. My name is Russell Brunson, and welcome to Marketing Secrets. All right, so I'm not sure the best way to kind of pre-set this up, but I want to share this with you because I think this is why a lot of people struggle. In fact, looking backwards now, it's always easier to look hindsight, right? But looking backwards, I think this is one reason why I struggled for so long, probably almost a decade. And the reason why is because I was trying to do the right things, right? I was trying to figure out how to provide value for my customers.

And so I was learning all sorts of things, right? And so as I was learning everything, I was like trying to teach these things, trying to share things, uh, which is good. I think a lot of times, um, people like us who are creators and who like to give and serve like this, just kind of our, our nature to do that. Right. Um, and, uh, so I don't think it was bad necessarily, but what happens, I started becoming like, um, a Jack of all trades and a master

of none. Right. I remember that when I first started getting into the internet marketing business and teaching stuff and I looked around the marketplace at the time and there were people that all were specifically good at one thing, right? Like Jeff Walker was good at product launches and Frank Kerr was good at mass control and they had all these different people and I can't remember all the names right now but you know Perry Perry Marshall was PPC and Brad Fallon was SEO and everyone's like good at one thing right but then for me like I started learning all these things um you know John Carlton was copywriting and all these people had one thing and I was like for me though I was like I was good at all those things I knew how to do SEO and I knew how to do pay-per-click I know knew how to do, um, copywriting and I knew how to do product launches.

And I knew how to do all these different things. And so like, um, I would try to, to sell myself. It's like, I could teach, I can do everything for you guys. And I would try to show them how to do everything. And what's interesting is as I tried to show people how to do everything, um, it was hard to really grow and scale my, my empire, whatever you want to call it. Right. Um, and it was always weird to me.

So I'm like, Oh, you can go there and get that one thing, that person, but you can get like everything for me that come to me. And, um, and, uh, I think it's because I loved it all. And I geeked out and I wanted to share it all. Um, but because like, no one could ever look at Russell and be like, Russell's the guy who does this. They were like, Russell is, you know, he's this guy who's teaching all sorts of stuff. And like, because I had specialized, nobody ever wanted to come to me. It was really just, it was interesting. Um, and it was always frustrating to me because I was just like, Oh, I felt like I was as good as not better than most of these people, but because I didn't specialize, it was harder to get people in. Right. And so,

um, that was me for a decade though. But I, I struggled because I, like, I knew I was good at all these different things. So because of that, I wanted to do them all. Um, now fast forward to, you know, four or five years ago, whenever, um, we started making this transition and, um, you know, as we launched click funnels, I kind of became the funnel person. Right. And, and it wasn't like strategic. It just became, cause I was click funnels is like, Oh, he's the guy who's funnels. And I started talking about more and start sharing it more. And like And I became obsessed with just that one piece. And so because of that, I started just going deep into funnels. I think that if you ask anybody now, they look at me as like, oh, Russell's the funnel guy, right?

And I wasn't the first funnel guy. And honestly, I've been teaching funnels for a decade prior to that, right? But for some reason, it was just like one of the, but for some reason, like it wasn't like my, it was just like one of the things in my tool belt, but it wasn't the thing when it became the thing is changed everything in my business. And also like people who wanted to learn funnels came to me like, and, and I watched as my empire, my brand, my whatever you want to call it, started growing dramatically. Now, after I like became the guy at this one thing, I'd be, I was the guy at funnel building. Um, what's cool is I bring my

audience in, but I can still do and still serve them all the other things, right? Like, but it all comes down to one core thing, like funnel building. That was my thing. Like I was the guy about funnels and then I could teach traffic. Instead of teaching traffic, it was like, fill your funnel. Here's how we fill your funnel full people. I could still teach copywriting, but it wasn't just like copywriting. It was funnel scripts. Like here's how we do the copy for your funnels. I can still teach, um, traffic generator. I mean all these different pieces, right. That I was good at. I used to teach them all, but they're all in the context of this one thing, funnel building. And when I did that, like, boom, you know, you've seen how things

grew and I was able to build, you know, we were able to build software around it and like trainings and everything else, masterminds and coaching programs all around this one thing, which was the funnel. Now, once again, like inside of that, I can teach all the things I did before, but because now it's known for one thing, that was the key. Um, and, uh, and so that was kind of the first thing I want to share with you guys, but it goes deeper than that. So, um, uh, today I had a chance. I, uh, my wife's out of town at a funeral for her grandma. And so, um, I was home with the boys. And so I just spent a lot of time with a funeral for her grandma. And so I was home with the boys. And so I spent a lot of time with them, which was fun. And then I also went and worked out on my own and kind of just had some time to myself too.

So I was listening to podcasts. And one of the podcasts I was listening a lot to was Dana Derrick's, his podcast and one of his books and stuff like that. And it's been interesting because I've known Dana now for probably two or three years or something like that. He drew a major circle and he spoke at Funahaki Maya this year. It was interesting. It's like when I met Dana, he, uh, he was famous at the time for like copywriting for Amazon listings. He was charged people 10 or 20 grand to write like a listing in Amazon. And that was like his thing. Right. And it was good. He's making really good money, but it's like, it's one off things. And he got tired of writing. So he's like, well, I'm gonna write a book, teach people how to do what I do. So I wrote this book. And then he was like, instead was making really good money, but it's like, it's one off things. And he got tired of writing. So he's like, well, I'm gonna write a book, teach people how to do what I do.

So he wrote this book. And then he was like, instead of selling the book for, uh, you know, really, really cheap on himself, really expensive. So we started selling these books, teaching people how to do Amazon copywriting for like 500 to a thousand dollars per book. And that started doing better. Gave him leverage, started making more money, but still the marketplace, you know, that it wasn't like the big market that I think he really wanted.

And so then he transitioned from from there to like teach me like hey you can write these really sensitive books like i did so we created a book they started selling for like twenty five hundred dollars that taught people how to write books and sell them for like a thousand dollars at a time and that was a thing it was doing well but i don't think it was ever huge and then um how we started selling that book is that there was he um he uh got a strategy i think he um he got for is that he got a strategy. I think he got it from me and I got it from Chet Holmes. It was this concept of the Dream 100.

Chet Holmes, there's one chapter in his book called the Dream 100. Inside of my training, I think I've referenced it four or five times. I'm a big believer in the Dream 100. In fact, my new book, Traffic Secrets, the foundation of that is the Dream 100, which is kind of cool. Then Dana took it and put on steroids. He wrote a whole book about it. He started doing it for his own stuff and he started for other people. And like that became this, like this new, like if you look at Dana, like he has become the dream 100 guy. And like, he has a whole back end thing for like, I don't know, 30 or 40, $50,000. He actually does the dream 100 for you. And like

all these crazy things. Um, he's got his book on dream 100 and like now, like that's become his, his, his thing. And, um, and you, he may, he may transition again in the future. Who knows? But for right now, like that's becoming his thing. He's got the book on front and he's got the done for you, done with you on the back and all these things. And he's going deep, deep, deep, deep into this one little piece, right? This one piece of like a chapter of Chet Holmes book. It was a chapter of what I share. And he's taken it and gone deep and built a huge business out of it now.

And it's all just because he is now the Dream 100 guy. He's focusing really, really tight on that, which is just really fascinating to me. You know, again, I took my, like, here's my scope of everything I could possibly do. And I took one piece of it and became the guy, he went deep on that. That's something blew up for me for Dana.

I think it's the same thing. Like there was copywriting and then there's, there was, um, writing and all these different things, but it became like dream 100 traffic. Like this is how you get traffic. This is the best way to get traffic.

The only way to get traffic is you focus on dream 100, dream 100, dream 100. Like that's when things blew up. Now he's got his dream 100 con coming out, which is a big event and he's doing all these things, but he's going deep in that one vein. And that's where now people are coming to him because he's the guy that does the dream 100.

Right. Um, and, uh, and I think that's so cool. I saw, um, recently also Steven Larson's sister used to work for us. Um, uh, Marie Larson and she, she, um, and I don't know everything kind of her whole story, but what she's done really good is I know she's, I believe she's helped me see with this podcast and getting published or whatever. And she decided I'm going to become the podcast person. So she went down, I was like, I'm going to become the best person at, at, uh, at podcasting.

And so she did that. And, um, I'm going to teach you how to do podcasts. I'm going to help new podcasts. I'm going to build a service around them. Do my podcast about podcasts and all this stuff and start focusing on that one little piece, like one little sliver of the market because she's now becoming that person.

People are coming to her and she's helping them do podcasts. She went from not making any money online to overnight making, I have no idea her revenue, so I'm guessing $5,000, $10,000 a month or more just because that became the thing. Another good one is Yana Golan, who is a super cool person. And she was doing relationship coaching and other things and having success in different pieces. But inside of Dotcom Seekers book, there's one little chapter about soap opera sequences, right?

How to write these soap opera sequences. And so she took that piece and started doing it for herself and started doing it for some friends and started having success and started geeking out doing it for some friends and started having success and started geeking out and going deeper, deeper, deeper now. She's like, I'm just going to be the person who writes these really amazing email sequences. And then she did it for one person

and it blew up for them and then someone else, someone else. And then Ever started hearing about it and right now she's making, again, I don't know her exact numbers. I probably not even, I know it's well, I know it's more than $25,000

a month. She's making out writing emails for people and going deep into that. And she hasn't even created a course or training or anything. She's just doing the, the, the service and making more than a doctor makes. Right. Cause she went super deep on that one little skill, that one little piece. Um, and so for you guys, I think a lot of times we're trying to become so good at everything, teach everything, do everything. And I kind of think, but it's like, look at the whole market, I think a lot of times we're trying to become so good at everything, teach everything, do everything.

And I kind of think, but it's like, look at the whole market, look at all this about there and just pick the sliver that you could become the person that you can go the deepest, the best in the world at that one little thing. I figure out that one little piece and go, go deep. Like that's, that's the magic. It's not in being a generalist who's good at everything. Um, you can do that. You should be that because it's good to have your skill set there.

But the magic comes when you specialize in the little thing, right? I mean, look at doctors, for example. The more a doctor specializes in a thing, the more money they can charge, right? I have a lot of people who live around me that are doctors. And the ones who go to more medical schools, specialize in a tinier thing, make more money than the generalists, who are able to fix kind of everything.

And so that's the mindset I'm thinking through, is like in your market, what is the, like how do you become the person, like the sliver, one little piece that you're going to own, it's going to be your thing, that you do better than anyone else,

you can geek out on. So if someone's like, what does so andand-so do? Oh, he's the person or she's the person that does podcasting, that does email sequences, that does weight loss for teenagers. I mean, whatever it is in your market, like what's that thing? Find that thing. Don't be nervous like, oh, it's such a small segment.

Like the smaller it is, the more specific, the more specialized you become, the more valuable you are. When I became, when I was Russell Brunson, the guy who can do every type of marketing on demand, I was a generalist and I was not, I didn't get paid what I felt like I was worth. When I specialized and became the funnel guy, that's when my income exploded, right?

And then, and after you understand that, then it's like when you, you can layer on other things within the context of that, but you do it all from that same foundation, right? Like I said, with funnel building with me, like that's my thing, but I can lay on copywriting, I can lay on trafficking,

lay on these other pieces still, but they're all tied. Like you'll notice I pretty much have funnel in the word of every one of my products now, like funnel or secret, like those two words are mine, right? They're in everything because those are the things that tie back to the one thing I'm the best in the world at.

And so anyway, for you to think about that, what is the thing you can become the best in the world at? And the smaller, I mean, you think about dream 100, that's such a small thing. Like for me, it was like a page and a half in one of my books. Like that's as much effort I put in that. Like I wouldn't have thought you could build a huge business, but because someone took that piece, that sliver, went super, super deep, boom, Dana's building a multimillion dollar a year business out of it, right? Cause Yada took

soap opera sequences, that one little piece that, you know, five or six pages that she learned and then went deep with it. Boom, 25,000 plus dollars a month coming into her just for writing the emails, right? And again, she's just beginning this journey. That's going to turn to a multimillion dollar business by actually doing this service and training and teaching all the other stuff around it. Um, uh, and, uh, and with others as well. So just anyway, just think through that. You guys just start thinking about that for yourselves. You don't have to be good at all these amazing things. Just pick the little, the sliver that you're going to be the best of the world that go deep there. And the deeper you go, the more you master that craft, the more people are going to come to you because they're going to want that thing. Cause you're the best in the world at and go deep there. And the deeper you go, the more you master that craft,

the more people are going to come to you because they're going to want that thing because you're the best in the world at that piece. So I hope that helps. Appreciate you guys all. Have an amazing night. And we'll talk to you guys again soon. Bye, everybody. Want more marketing secrets? If so, then go get your copies of my two best-selling books.

Book number one is called Expert Secrets, and you can get a free copy at expertsecrets.com. And book number two is called called Expert Secrets, and you can get a free copy at expertsecrets.com. And book number two is called Dot Com Secrets, and you can get your free copy at dotcomsecrets.com. Inside these two books, you'll find my top 35 secrets that we've used to become the fastest growing non-VC backed SaaS startup company in the world.