But…Influence Seems ‘Icky’

You can’t have it both ways.

You can’t build a diehard tribe of people who trust your opinion and buy from you without a bunch of heavy-handed sales tactics…

And deny the truth of what that means.

This morning I woke up to a comment on one of my X posts promoting the Influential Writers Intensive.

But before we get to that, here’s what my post said,

“If you want to create a cult-like following of true believers who will seek you out, trust your advice, and buy from you again and again - then this program was created for you.”

Ok, I'm biased but that sounds pretty good to me.

But some people just don’t get what having influence means. Here’s what the commenter said…

“Cult-like” “Believers”

Using words like this brings up religious thinking where the individual is the guru.

I just think of - Jim Jones, Heavens Gate, Charles Manson and Branch Davidians of Waco Texas.

I’m nowhere at the level of your knowledge and insight when it comes to all of this marketing, Twitter and email newsletter, but these words don’t really sit well for me.”

First, he’s right. He has nowhere close to my level of knowledge or experience…

But he expresses a concern held by a lot of wannabe influencers…

The fear that if you intentionally try to influence others you’re doing something evil.

So let’s address it.

Influence Has No Moral Compass

Like money and power, influence can be used for good or evil.

Over the centuries it has been used to enslave people and to set them free.

It can be a force for good in the world as easily as it can be used to harm.

I’m reminded of the old gun rights slogan, “Guns don’t kill people, I do.”

It’s not the act of influencing that’s wrong, it’s how and why you do it that matters most.

The second thing we must come to terms with is that we are all attempting to influence someone, all of the time.

You do it, I do it, everyone does it.

Some people are just better at it than others. And a select few know how to build trusted relationships deliberately.

If your goal is to have influence why would you want anything less than, “…a cult-like following of true believers”?

Granted, having influence over someone comes with great responsibility. But your aim should not be a more palatable version of what’s best just because some people find it ‘icky’ to talk about.

To master the skill of influence you need to let go of your previous beliefs and accept the truth…

Without the ability to influence we are powerless. Our only recourse is to lie or use force.

And that is what's truly dangerous.

Jason