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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nicole Tuxbury (00:02):
Hello there and welcome back to the next episode
of Overcome Yourself, thepodcast.
As you know, my name is Nicoleand I'm so excited to be here
today with Alan, and Alan helpsentrepreneurs and leaders with
their branding.
He's got some great, vividimagery for you.
I guess that's part of hisbrand, but I'm going to let him
(00:22):
take it away.
So, alan, please go ahead,introduce yourself and let us
know who you are and who youhelp.
Alan Mclaren (00:28):
Yeah, so my name is Alan McLaren.
I'm from the other side.
I'm in Canada.
I was born in Montreal and I'min Toronto, canada.
Now.
For the last 25 years, I'vebeen in all kinds of industries
over my long gray hair, thethings that I've picked up,
industries over my long, youknow, gray hair, the things that
I've picked up.
But from entrepreneurship torunning public companies to now
(00:48):
running a personal brandingagency.
And I have to tell you, out ofall the 25 or 30 years I've been
doing this, you know, part ofwhat you do is transformation.
Nicole, I have now discoveredthat piece in my life and it's
in the work we're doing withpersonal branding, working with
CEOs right now, helping them getwith clarity and strategy and
helping them, to your point, getover themselves to recognize
(01:10):
they have this talent in theworld.
And it has transformed me andtransformed the people we're
working with all around theworld.
So it's been the coolestexperience in the last third of
my life.
I'm going to be really making adifference in people's lives.
Nicole Tuxbury (01:26):
I love that.
That is amazing.
And branding is so important,often overlooked.
So can you give me some tipsfor the entrepreneurs that are
listening?
They're overcoming themselves,they're building out their
businesses?
What are some branding tipsthat you've got for us?
Alan Mclaren (01:43):
Just recognize that if you're an entrepreneur,
it's your brand.
You are the brand, you're theone selling, you're the one
coaching, you're the onebringing in the business, you're
the one delivering the business.
So you're the brand.
And ask yourself this questionDo you trust a company or do you
trust people?
We know the answer we trustpeople.
But if you don't exist ondigital, you don't exist.
(02:08):
Think about the old days and Ican think about the old days
because I was part of the olddays Is that you would control
your brand inside a company,wouldn't you?
Everybody would be in theoffice, everybody do their thing
.
You'd be the leader.
Now, distribution ofcommunication is different.
It's one to many and one to one.
And this medium that we'retalking about here whether it's
(02:28):
a Zoom call or a Teams call orany other video call this is the
new way.
So how do you communicate withpeople?
So my first tip is to recognizethe importance of your brand.
That's number one.
Number two is understand whoyou are, understand your
strengths and your weaknesses,and what I mean by that is
everybody has a gift.
They just don't know they havea gift, and I'll give you a
(02:52):
perfect example.
The number one question we getfrom our entrepreneurs is why
would anybody listen to me?
The answer is very simple whatyou think is normal?
The answer is very simple.
What you think is normal,somebody else might find
fascinating.
Nicole Tuxbury (03:06):
Yes, yes.
I heard once, if you know howto fry an egg and you do that
for someone that doesn't, it'smagic to them.
You know, there's like an artto fry an egg right, like the
pan has to be hot enough and ifyou don't know how to do that,
it's going to be magical.
So the things that are the mostnormal.
I love that.
I love that Because you don'tsee how awesome the thing you do
(03:28):
is, because it just seems sosecond nature to you.
Alan Mclaren (03:35):
And the other thing, though, is that where we
live is in the line ofsomebody's perspective.
Let me give you a story thatmight be helpful.
We did a workshop the other dayand there were two gentlemen
from the Carolinas.
They were in the same business.
They were in debtreconciliation, helping people
through debt.
So the assumption would be oh,they're in the same business.
Well, one of them deals withcouples who get into trouble
financially and he helps,consult and helps them get
(03:56):
through it.
The other one was an immigrantfrom Gambia, in Africa, who
deals with new immigrants toCanada, to America, and so you
start thinking about well,they're in the same business,
but they're nowhere near in thesame business, because the folks
from Gambia don't know what acredit card is, don't know what
a loan is, so the perspectivesof him are vastly different from
(04:19):
the other gentleman who dealswith perspectives.
So apparently it's the samebusiness but the perspectives
are so different.
That's what I'm talking about.
Everybody has that gift becauseeverybody came from a different
place.
Nicole Tuxbury (04:31):
I love that.
And how do you help yourclients narrow down what that is
for them?
Alan Mclaren (04:37):
So we do something called a brand DNA, which is
essentially a 90 minute forensicinterview of everything that
you are as a human being.
So everything from you knowwhat your influences were at 12
years old, some of thechallenges you had when you were
younger, to your journey as anentrepreneur, because everybody
has a story.
There's not a human without astory.
(04:58):
I mean, dr Seuss used to alwayssay, used to say, only you are
you.
That is never truer in today'sworld.
No one realizes they have astory.
So what we do is we help themextract that story and be honest
with themselves about what'sinside them, and then they kind
of lay out a bit of a gift forthem, which is what are their
(05:19):
core platform and what are theircore perspectives.
Now they have clarity and thenthey go on to do other things
like podcasts and social mediaand other things, because they
have clarity on who they are andwhat their gifts and
perspectives are.
So that's the first piece ofwork we do and that's the
transformational work we do.
That's the part that gets mecharged up, because we had one
(05:40):
of our clients gave us this word, nicole, which is so cool.
She says thank you for changingmy life and I went wait a
minute, we're doing personalbranding here, what are you
talking about?
She says I now see me the wayyou see me.
And so the world opened up.
Because she was very insular,because she was humble and not
(06:02):
sharing.
So then we helped her throughthat.
And then, on the other side,now she's literally unstoppable.
But she needed that littleblock to get over.
And a lot of our clients havethat block imposter syndrome
pick something, they're just notready.
But boy, when they get on theother side, magic happens.
And that's that's the work wedo.
That is the most fun.
Nicole Tuxbury (06:24):
I love that.
My coach says it's hard to seeyour own label from inside the
bottle, and so I love how you,you, just you shine a light to
that.
And speaking of stories, thatwas a great transition because I
wanted to ask you about yourstory and how you ended up
helping with branding.
I feel like there might be astory of overcoming yourself
(06:45):
somewhere, so can you tell us alittle bit about that?
Alan Mclaren (06:48):
There is.
There's a business story.
So I've been in lots ofdifferent businesses throughout
my career, but the last 18 yearsI had a marketing agency with a
business partner, leanne, andwe had a good entrepreneurial
run, up and down, in and out,some great highs, some great
lows, which everybody goesthrough in entrepreneurship.
Don't believe the hype, right,as people say, oh, it's all the
(07:09):
huckies.
No, it's not always easy, butit's also part of your growth
journey, right?
But what we recognized at somepoint in our around COVID is
like a lot of businesses we had.
No, everything disappearedrevenue wise.
So we had to think about thenext 10, what does it look like?
And what we realized was youknow, this communication of
personal branding was really notproductized in a way that it
(07:32):
was accessible.
People go personal branding oh,I'll hire a publicist or I'll
hire a speech writer or I'llhire a social media team.
No, they start with strategy.
So we figured out that itwasn't out there.
No, they start with strategy.
So we figured out that itwasn't out there.
So we said, okay, let's startit as a product under our
company and see if there'ssomething there.
Oh well, we discovered therewas something there.
(07:52):
Get over ourselves an 18-yearlegacy that we had this business
that we built together and wehad to say but now we're moving
(08:18):
towards something new.
So there took a little bit ofangst and challenge to do that.
We made the decision, westarted the new business and we
haven't looked back and we'rehaving the time of our lives now
.
Nicole Tuxbury (08:28):
That is amazing.
And having honest conversationswith yourself, because you have
to admit this is not working.
You have to have enough insightinto yourself and enough
honesty and right to be able tosay that to yourself and to your
partners and be like how can,how can we make this different?
To be able to say that toyourself and to your partners
and be like how can we make thisdifferent?
How can we pivot.
And I think that's amazing.
So you bring up an importantpoint.
(08:49):
Branding is not social media.
Branding is not publicity.
Branding is not writingarticles.
All of those things are great,but it's not branding.
So when you talk about branding, can you kind of solidify it a
little bit for us?
And what does it mean?
Like, what is branding?
Alan Mclaren (09:06):
Well, I'll make it really simple.
So we always use the wordpersonal branding because it's a
little different than corporatebranding.
But let's think about this whenyou walk in a room, your
personal brand shows up beforeyou do Right, and when you leave
the room, it's still there,because people are describing
you.
Nicole, when you touchsomebody's life, they're going
to say something about you.
(09:27):
When you're not there, are theydefending you, are they
protecting you, are theycelebrating you?
That's essentially what apersonal brand is.
So if you're known as a giver orsomeone who lives with their
heart, or an intellectualwhatever that is, the perception
of you is the reality.
It may not be what you want,but the perception is reality.
(09:47):
So the question is what dopeople say about you when you're
not in the room, and is it whatyou want them to say?
And how do you close that gap?
Well, you close that gap withsome of the tools that you
mentioned and say okay, now Iknow who I am.
Is that what I want the worldto know?
And then it's a question ofsharing your gifts with the
world.
So, in my case, I share myknowledge of leadership and my
(10:10):
knowledge of personal branding,and I never sell a thing.
I want to teach you how to doit, and if you do it, I feel
inspired that you've done it.
I'm really happy that you'vedone it.
You want a little lesson fromleadership, happy to share my
perspectives.
So once you do that, then youdetermine the communication
vehicles for that.
A podcast is one of thevehicles to share your story.
(10:32):
And writing articles, doingvideo, doing social media all
those are communication elementsthat you should use, because
you get to communicate with thepeople in your life already and
they're the ones are going toget you to the next group.
So that's how I would describepersonal branding.
It's a transformationalexercise if done right.
But you know, can't see thelabel from inside.
(10:53):
The jar is exactly the point.
Get some help because you can'tsee it yourself.
Nicole Tuxbury (11:00):
I love that, and you know, when you talk about
branding, you think you're goingto say, oh, the logo and having
your shirt and your littlefreebies when are they, the
little freebies?
When you go to events and likethat's not at all what you are
talking about.
And all of these things, though, support the branding that
you're talking about, right, andI absolutely love that.
(11:21):
That is absolutely fantastic.
Alan Mclaren (11:22):
The difference is you think about so in the case
of an entrepreneur, who is thecompany?
Let's in your case, right?
So it's really impossible toseparate the two, right?
At the end of the day, theovercome yourself t-shirt is you
, because you have a story.
I don't even know your story,but I know you have a story to
get to where you are today thatsays, okay, that's what I'm
(11:44):
about and I want to share thatknowledge with the world.
You do that via a podcast, bybringing other guests and get a
chance to share that story.
Well, there are another 30 or 40ways to get it out there when
you have time, money and energyto get it out there, cause
that's that's the biggest thing,right, the other day it was so
we've incorporated into ourworkshops that the gentleman
(12:05):
shared with me says you know,change is hard.
It requires time, energy andmoney and money.
It always requires money ofsome type.
But but are people prepared forchange when they're not
prepared for transformation oraction?
They're not.
So that's what we try to do issay, let us be the wind beneath
(12:25):
your wings, let's get a littlecrazy for a second, but let us
help you get there so you cannow flourish in a big way, and
it's just the coolest thing whenpeople realize that, humbly,
they have this talent and nowthey're able to share it with
the world.
So that's it.
But it is about the human,because that's the trusted
(12:46):
source versus the company.
Nicole Tuxbury (12:48):
I love that.
And actually this podcast wasborn from me writing my book.
It's in editing right now.
But I started as a book andthen I was like, ok, the book is
done, it's with my editor, whatam I going to do between now
and the time the book ispublished?
To talk about this book Likethere's got to be something,
like it doesn't just exist.
(13:09):
Then how do I bring it intoexistence?
And now we're coming up on 100episodes.
And it was a journey of sittingdown and asking myself what do I
have?
10,000 hours of experience andlike really looking at my life
(13:29):
and just like a little quickrecap, my mom died when I was
one and a half.
I got into a boat accident whenI was nine, hurt my back.
Nobody believed nine year oldme had back pain and so I just
lived my life as if that didn'texist.
And then, when I was 21, I wentto the doctor and found out
that I had the back of adisabled elderly woman and I
(13:49):
would be in a wheelchair in fiveyears if I didn't quit my job
as a server carrying trays andchange something.
So I had to go on a journey ofwhat the heck do I do now, and
from that.
That's where my book was bornfrom.
That's where I had to learn howto make money without having to
leave my house, sometimeswithout having to leave my bed,
because, like I was stuck thereand I've been strengthening ever
(14:12):
since and then so my book, andthen my podcast, was born from
that.
And so when I really learned totake these pieces and be able to
say this is my story, like thisis what happened to me, like
this is literally my life and Iovercame it, and now I can show
you what I did, that you can do,and you know it's hard, and I
(14:35):
interview so many people andtheir stories.
Like I'm so humbled by people'sstories.
Like you know what it is tobuild a business for 20 years
and then be like this doesn'twork.
Like that, that's scary, right,that's really, really scary.
And so I commend you and peoplethat have lost their children,
people that have gone through somany things with their bodies,
(14:56):
like it's just, it's justincredible and to see these
stories of resilience and youknow to share that with the
world, right, so that's whatwe're here to do.
So I think it's amazing.
Now tell me a little bit moreabout your tips for branding, so
like, if I want to control mystory, right, I want to go out
(15:18):
with my story.
How, how do I do that?
How do I share with the world?
Alan Mclaren (15:23):
So you use the example of a book, right?
So once you've got clarity onwho you are, so let's use your
example, would be perfect.
So you have perspectives in astory and there are many that
have overcome great odds, butyour odds are your odds and your
perspectives are yourperspectives.
There are other people thathave lost parents at one and a
(15:45):
half that don't necessarily havethe same perspective because of
where they grew up, how theygrew up did they have a good dad
or didn't act like.
All those things influence you,well, but they're all
extrapolated to overcomingyourself, right?
So you've chosen to write abook.
What we do with people say,okay, if you're not writing a
book, how do you lay that storyout?
(16:05):
What are the influences of?
You didn't remember when youwere one and a half, but
whenever you started rememberingthat, what were the memories
and what were the things thatheld you back, like, so those
are the perspectives that areprobably in your book, right?
And now you say, okay, how do Ibreak that out?
So we tell people is lay thatout as if it's a book, lay it
(16:27):
out for a year and startrecording videos on your phone
30 seconds, one minute, get thestory out there and then, when
you're comfortable with it,maybe you start popping that on
social media, and so as so whatwe do with some authors, you
start popping that on socialmedia, and so as so what we do
with some authors.
There are authors that havebooks coming out.
We say to them let's take somekey elements of your book, start
(16:50):
to record videos of that as aprecursor to the book, getting
people excited about the book.
And then when they want to readthe book, they get the full
experience.
But they get to.
You get to capture them early.
So it's the same, whetheryou're running a coaching
business, consulting business ora cookie business, doesn't
matter.
People are interested in yourstory because there's a reason.
(17:10):
You started a cookie business.
It didn't just come out of theblue, something happened.
So that's what it is.
Look at it like a book.
Lay out your chapters 12 monthsof the year, four weeks in each
month on average.
Okay, what would I want to talkabout?
And then you lay out yourcontent plan.
We recommend video because it'sthe most authentic, right?
Podcast video is more authenticthan audio, right?
(17:32):
So because you get to see andlike or dislike the person,
whatever you choose to do.
So we do recommend that.
Practice, practice, practice.
Learn how to tell a story.
Most important thing is learnhow to tell a story in two
minutes and you can practice ituntil you're tired of practicing
it.
Don't post it until you'reready.
(17:53):
But I'll tell you the otherside of that.
When you do that, I do probably50 to 60 videos a year and
they're easy to do.
Now I did one just before westarted Five minutes.
I had an idea, pushed thebutton done, video's done, sent
it to my editor.
We're done.
No edits, we're done Becauseyou get practice at it and it's
good.
(18:13):
And think about this as apersonal brand.
Now when you go to an event,you're not long-winded anymore,
you can be successful andimpactful and that's really cool
.
So that's kind of number one.
(18:33):
Number two is whatever youchoose to do, don't get hung up
on production value.
Nobody, they just want you.
So on youtube, you have to havea thumbnail, because that's
what youtube wants.
But if you're on linkedin ortiktok or instagram, just let it
be your face.
That's what people want to seeand not a lot of b-roll.
And Because then it feels likemarketing and it feels like
selling yes, not building trust.
So that's the second tip Iwould do is do that.
And then the third tip is start.
(18:54):
Start by getting on yourLinkedIn, if it's a business
thing, and start commenting onother people's stuff.
Start getting the algorithm torecognize that you exist.
Start to grow your audience andthen start your content plan,
and no one will come to yourparty.
At the beginning, no one'scoming to you, that's good.
Nicole Tuxbury (19:12):
That's good, because then you can mess up.
You can mess it all up.
Alan Mclaren (19:15):
You can come to the party now, but one video
could change everything.
Yes, Right, so I get last week,Friday, Monday Instagram posts.
Someone reaches out to me fromNew York Can you do a speaking
gig in New York for us?
Just sign the contract today.
Two days later, On Monday,someone saw a 30 second post in
(19:39):
Cyprus Cyprus, and I had a callwith the next day and she says
yeah, I want to do business withyou.
I didn't know these people froma hole in the ground.
And that's what the opportunityis.
If you're out there and you'rehonest and you're true to
yourself, stuff's going to startto happen for you If you're out
there.
If you're not out there, you'renot going to know what you're
missing because it's not goingto pop on your doorstep.
(20:00):
So get out there and startwould be the biggest tip I could
give anybody.
Don't be, I love it.
Nicole Tuxbury (20:08):
Yes, take imperfect action, what I always
tell my clients.
Actually, I was thinkingsomething you said earlier.
I have a whole chapter in mybook called you've got to want
it.
Um, like that transformation,that that the goal.
You've got to learn to want itand be able to keep it right.
So that's such a big part.
And something else that yousaid is you were talking about
(20:31):
video attracting, repelling.
Like you're already a niche.
Just by being you as yourself,you're attracting and repelling
people.
So why not be as much you aspossible and just attract and
repel the right people?
Like, if you don't like that,I'm bubbly.
Goodbye, I'm not gonna be lessbubbly.
Like, just stop watching myvideos, right?
Alan Mclaren (20:53):
the picture on your podcast, right it's you
have.
You exude a personality, right?
If that's the authentic you,that's it, because I'm not gonna
be funny.
I can't get up on stage andtell jokes.
I just can't part of who I am.
So I know what I'm good at, Iknow what I'm not good at.
I don't pretend to be somebodyelse, end of story.
And you don't pretend to besomebody else.
(21:15):
Authenticity is the name of thegame Truth and living.
If you are a heart centeredperson, then you lead with your
heart.
If you're a head-centeredperson, it's hard to lead with
your heart.
Then it's okay.
People appreciate you as anintellectual.
That's why they'll follow you.
Gary Vaynerchuk right.
Some people don't like himbecause he swears like a crazy
man, right, but he's authenticas heck.
(21:36):
He is who he is and he doesn'tcare, and he attracts the right
people and repels others.
Nicole Tuxbury (21:42):
And his market loves him.
Alan Mclaren (21:43):
And people love him because he's not playing any
games.
And that's all we're saying isyou can really be you.
Dr Seuss was right, you canreally be you.
And then, yeah, if you attract1,000 people, think about that,
how many people would you havein a speaking gig or listening
to this podcast?
If you get 20, 30, 50 peoplelistening to you, they know
(22:10):
hundreds more and they'll helpspread your message.
So that's what I would say.
Nicole Tuxbury (22:12):
Yes, and then it's also the effect of like
commercials, right, because whenthey see you everywhere, right,
cause you, you shared a podcastepisode.
Now they see you on the videos.
Like you make shorter videos.
You record a video here.
You share a blog post, you'retalking about your life on
social media.
Wow, this person is everywhereand we need those touches.
(22:32):
As salespeople, we need like 70touches it used to be seven,
now it's like 70 for them justto pay attention to whatever it
is that you're trying to talk tothem about, because there's so
much going on.
Um, so all of this is just gold, absolutely amazing.
Thank you so much, alan mypleasure.
Alan Mclaren (22:48):
One thing I'll say is it's absolutely true, it may
not.
Whether it's 70 or not, theyneed to spend time with you, and
the first time they spend timewith you and the second time
they'll want to spend it withthe third time and fourth time,
and you'll see that in youranalytics when you're on social
media and go well, look who's,I've got these new people that
are showing up from where?
Well, because we did a podcasthere that brought 10 more people
(23:11):
over, and it's a long game,right?
So let's not pretend it's along game, but I would encourage
, you know, I think we'll maybetalk about it before we wrap up,
but we have a tool that wecould help some of your
listeners with.
If they want to visit a pagewhich we can put in the post
later, when you're ready to getit out there, there's a gift
that we'll have for them onpersonal branding and a
(23:33):
worksheet that they can helpfigure out their own brand.
And then I was about to ask you.
Nicole Tuxbury (23:38):
So, yes, take it away.
Let us know about it.
Alan Mclaren (23:41):
Yeah, so we have a landing page that that your
listeners that we do it.
I do it for the podcast that Igo on, and it'll be a 30 minute
video that I've recorded with mybusiness partner, leanne, that
teaches you the ABCs of whatpersonal branding is and what
you can think about.
And then there's a worksheetyou can download that really
helps you walk through and youactually work through it and say
(24:03):
, okay, now I understand mystrengths, my credibility, my
all those things.
That's the starting point right.
And if, if you, if you love thatand it works for you, then just
get started.
And you know our world is.
We do, as I said earlier, we dothe brand DNA with our CEO
clients and then we eitherbecome their coach or we do the
work for them.
That's it.
(24:23):
That's the easy way to engagewith us.
We're a premium service, to behonest, so it's not for
everybody, but for the peoplethat do work with us, as I
shared with one guy yesterday, Isaid listen, if you don't like
us, you better like us becausewe're going to become friends.
And he said no, I like you guys.
I said because that's thewarning.
(24:46):
The warning signal is we'regoing to be working together
very intimately for the nextyear.
So just be ready that if youdon't really get that feeling,
then don't go ahead.
If you do get that feeling,then I think we'll have a good
opportunity for success together, and that's you'll find those
people in your life is what Iwould say.
If you're not ready to toinvest in in an agency to help
(25:07):
you, then then learn.
Go on YouTube, go to follow, goto our newsletter, follow my
videos.
We will teach you everything weknow, but you got to learn on
your own.
That takes a little longer, butpeople have done it but you
know what?
Nicole Tuxbury (25:22):
that's something that I talk to my audience
about all the time.
You're going to have to make aninvestment, and it's either
going to have to be your time oryour money, but you're going to
have to invest one of them.
So, if you don't have the moneyto invest right now, invest
your time.
And what you were saying aboutthe videos is every time someone
takes the time to watch one ofyour videos, that's a yes, and
(25:43):
you, you know, my big thing isgratitude.
Be grateful for that.
Yes, because they're saying yeswith their time before they say
yes with their money.
So the more that they say yesto you with their time, the
closer you are to getting yeseswith the money right.
Alan Mclaren (25:57):
Quick 20.
Second story A gentleman I'veknown for 20 years.
We were at an event togetherand every time I get there he
and his spouse say love yourvideo and they're really great.
They're really.
We watched them all the time.
I said that's awesome, that'sreally great, and that was it.
I never went any further.
One event he turns to me andsays okay, I'm ready, so ready
(26:18):
for what?
My journey with you?
I'd like to hire you.
I said I didn't even know youwere a prospect.
When did that happen?
He said well, I've been on yourvideos for over a year and I
think it's time for me so it wasa lesson for me to kind of
realize that you're makingdeposits in people's lives
without even realizing it.
He made a decision to work withus.
He didn't know how much, howoften, where I want to work with
(26:40):
you, cause now, although heknew me, now, now he trusted my
expertise yes, yes it was agreat lesson for me and all of
us have that in our lives if wepay attention to it as you
suggested.
You know being grateful ispaying attention to the good
right yes.
I wasn't necessarily evenpaying attention to that because
I was humbled by the praise,which I'm really hard to take.
(27:02):
Praise, well, I don't do thatwell, so I didn't see the
opportunity until it was smashedin my face.
I'm like yeah, so anyways, it'sa lesson to learn, another
lesson that is amazing andyou're working on getting better
at that.
Nicole Tuxbury (27:15):
It's not that you're bad at taking.
Praise is that you're learningto receive right, because when
we give, we also have to be goodat receiving and accept that
someone else wants to give right.
So I love that.
I think that is amazing.
So how can we stay in touchwith you and do you have any
final tips for the audience?
Alan Mclaren (27:32):
Well, staying in touch.
Our website, alan McLaren onLinkedIn would be a first step.
And just say that you know it'dbe great to say that you were
on Nicole's podcast.
Heard that.
Go to the landing page so I'llsend the links and we'll get
that all in there so you can dothat.
Sign up for our newsletter onthat same page so you can get
regular information.
And and what I would encourageis what I try to do with
(27:56):
everybody who's scared beforethey do it is just use LinkedIn
as an example and just startgoing on there.
15 minutes a day, 10 minutes aday.
Follow some people you reallylove.
You're not going to emulateGary Vaynerchuk or you know, or
others, but go see what they'redoing, see the different styles
and say what is me?
And then start messing aroundStarting.
(28:18):
Start, start, start.
That's the key and then you'll.
It'll evolve like a flowerblooms over time.
The beginning it'll be ugly,it'll be clumsy and that's all
good, and then after that you'llsee the benefits.
A year after you start doingthat stuff's going to happen to
you you never imagined.
But if you don't start.
(28:39):
That's why I always tell peoplethe opportunity cost of not
being out there is.
You don't know what you'remissing.
Really literally, you don'tknow what you're missing because
it's there.
Nicole Tuxbury (28:48):
You just got to be out there, and if you're not,
even the opportunities, thefree opportunities I've gotten
just from having my podcastright, like, um, like from the
podcast host, like I got ticketsto podfest last year.
They were like, hey, we'regiving away some tickets.
So like even being in thatworld has given me opportunities
that I never would haveimagined.
Um, and I want to point out thesales lesson um, for my
(29:12):
audience.
I just, I absolutely love howyou, um, you spoke to your
audience and you said, hey, thisis a premium service.
So like you didn't have to, youdidn't have to say anything
negative.
Right, you focus on thepositive and let your audience
know hey, this is a premiumservice.
So like, this is not a 25 thingwe're talking about guys, and I
think that's a huge lesson andjust the way that you phrase it
(29:34):
and, um, and just that theformula, like seeing it play out
, how you do, how it's aboutdoing what you're doing, the
service because you love it, andthen the money is coming on the
back end.
Like we're focusing not on thenumbers, because I'm like, make
videos and my client's like, butnobody sees them.
(29:56):
I'm like if you had 200 peoplein a room, you wouldn't know
what to do.
Right, make the videos becauseyou want to help those people,
not because they're seeing themright now and from that service.
Those are the seeds that we'replanting, right, and that is how
those seeds pop up.
But if you stop at six months,how is that person going to want
to pay you?
He didn't get to spend thewhole year with you.
(30:17):
So just such big, big lessonsthat you are leading by example,
right, and you're giving usthat example, all right.
So thank you so much.
Any last thoughts.
Alan Mclaren (30:28):
Just one thing Personal branding is not a
transaction.
You have one, you will alwayshave one.
Don't do it to get, do it to be.
Nicole Tuxbury (30:37):
Yes, I love it.
I would leave it.
Thank you so much, alan.
This has been amazing and allof the links that he mentioned
guys are going to be down in theshow notes in the comments,
wherever it is.
You're watching this and wewill see you next time on
Overcome Yourself, the podcast.
Thanks Bye.
Alan Mclaren (30:52):
Bye, thank you.
Hello there and welcome back to the next episode
of Overcome Yourself, thepodcast.
As you know, my name is Nicoleand I'm so excited to be here
today with Alan, and Alan helpsentrepreneurs and leaders with
their branding.
He's got some great, vividimagery for you.
I guess that's part of hisbrand, but I'm going to let him
(00:22):
take it away.
So, alan, please go ahead,introduce yourself and let us
know who you are and who youhelp.
Alan Mclaren (00:28):
Yeah, so my name is Alan McLaren.
I'm from the other side.
I'm in Canada.
I was born in Montreal and I'min Toronto, canada.
Now.
For the last 25 years, I'vebeen in all kinds of industries
over my long gray hair, thethings that I've picked up,
industries over my long, youknow, gray hair, the things that
I've picked up.
But from entrepreneurship torunning public companies to now
(00:48):
running a personal brandingagency.
And I have to tell you, out ofall the 25 or 30 years I've been
doing this, you know, part ofwhat you do is transformation.
Nicole, I have now discoveredthat piece in my life and it's
in the work we're doing withpersonal branding, working with
CEOs right now, helping them getwith clarity and strategy and
helping them, to your point, getover themselves to recognize
(01:10):
they have this talent in theworld.
And it has transformed me andtransformed the people we're
working with all around theworld.
So it's been the coolestexperience in the last third of
my life.
I'm going to be really making adifference in people's lives.
Nicole Tuxbury (01:26):
I love that.
That is amazing.
And branding is so important,often overlooked.
So can you give me some tipsfor the entrepreneurs that are
listening?
They're overcoming themselves,they're building out their
businesses?
What are some branding tipsthat you've got for us?
Alan Mclaren (01:43):
Just recognize that if you're an entrepreneur,
it's your brand.
You are the brand, you're theone selling, you're the one
coaching, you're the onebringing in the business, you're
the one delivering the business.
So you're the brand.
And ask yourself this questionDo you trust a company or do you
trust people?
We know the answer we trustpeople.
But if you don't exist ondigital, you don't exist.
(02:08):
Think about the old days and Ican think about the old days
because I was part of the olddays Is that you would control
your brand inside a company,wouldn't you?
Everybody would be in theoffice, everybody do their thing
.
You'd be the leader.
Now, distribution ofcommunication is different.
It's one to many and one to one.
And this medium that we'retalking about here whether it's
(02:28):
a Zoom call or a Teams call orany other video call this is the
new way.
So how do you communicate withpeople?
So my first tip is to recognizethe importance of your brand.
That's number one.
Number two is understand whoyou are, understand your
strengths and your weaknesses,and what I mean by that is
everybody has a gift.
They just don't know they havea gift, and I'll give you a
(02:52):
perfect example.
The number one question we getfrom our entrepreneurs is why
would anybody listen to me?
The answer is very simple whatyou think is normal?
The answer is very simple.
What you think is normal,somebody else might find
fascinating.
Nicole Tuxbury (03:06):
Yes, yes.
I heard once, if you know howto fry an egg and you do that
for someone that doesn't, it'smagic to them.
You know, there's like an artto fry an egg right, like the
pan has to be hot enough and ifyou don't know how to do that,
it's going to be magical.
So the things that are the mostnormal.
I love that.
I love that Because you don'tsee how awesome the thing you do
(03:28):
is, because it just seems sosecond nature to you.
Alan Mclaren (03:35):
And the other thing, though, is that where we
live is in the line ofsomebody's perspective.
Let me give you a story thatmight be helpful.
We did a workshop the other dayand there were two gentlemen
from the Carolinas.
They were in the same business.
They were in debtreconciliation, helping people
through debt.
So the assumption would be oh,they're in the same business.
Well, one of them deals withcouples who get into trouble
financially and he helps,consult and helps them get
(03:56):
through it.
The other one was an immigrantfrom Gambia, in Africa, who
deals with new immigrants toCanada, to America, and so you
start thinking about well,they're in the same business,
but they're nowhere near in thesame business, because the folks
from Gambia don't know what acredit card is, don't know what
a loan is, so the perspectivesof him are vastly different from
(04:19):
the other gentleman who dealswith perspectives.
So apparently it's the samebusiness but the perspectives
are so different.
That's what I'm talking about.
Everybody has that gift becauseeverybody came from a different
place.
Nicole Tuxbury (04:31):
I love that.
And how do you help yourclients narrow down what that is
for them?
Alan Mclaren (04:37):
So we do something called a brand DNA, which is
essentially a 90 minute forensicinterview of everything that
you are as a human being.
So everything from you knowwhat your influences were at 12
years old, some of thechallenges you had when you were
younger, to your journey as anentrepreneur, because everybody
has a story.
There's not a human without astory.
(04:58):
I mean, dr Seuss used to alwayssay, used to say, only you are
you.
That is never truer in today'sworld.
No one realizes they have astory.
So what we do is we help themextract that story and be honest
with themselves about what'sinside them, and then they kind
of lay out a bit of a gift forthem, which is what are their
(05:19):
core platform and what are theircore perspectives.
Now they have clarity and thenthey go on to do other things
like podcasts and social mediaand other things, because they
have clarity on who they are andwhat their gifts and
perspectives are.
So that's the first piece ofwork we do and that's the
transformational work we do.
That's the part that gets mecharged up, because we had one
(05:40):
of our clients gave us this word, nicole, which is so cool.
She says thank you for changingmy life and I went wait a
minute, we're doing personalbranding here, what are you
talking about?
She says I now see me the wayyou see me.
And so the world opened up.
Because she was very insular,because she was humble and not
(06:02):
sharing.
So then we helped her throughthat.
And then, on the other side,now she's literally unstoppable.
But she needed that littleblock to get over.
And a lot of our clients havethat block imposter syndrome
pick something, they're just notready.
But boy, when they get on theother side, magic happens.
And that's that's the work wedo.
That is the most fun.
Nicole Tuxbury (06:24):
I love that.
My coach says it's hard to seeyour own label from inside the
bottle, and so I love how you,you, just you shine a light to
that.
And speaking of stories, thatwas a great transition because I
wanted to ask you about yourstory and how you ended up
helping with branding.
I feel like there might be astory of overcoming yourself
(06:45):
somewhere, so can you tell us alittle bit about that?
Alan Mclaren (06:48):
There is.
There's a business story.
So I've been in lots ofdifferent businesses throughout
my career, but the last 18 yearsI had a marketing agency with a
business partner, leanne, andwe had a good entrepreneurial
run, up and down, in and out,some great highs, some great
lows, which everybody goesthrough in entrepreneurship.
Don't believe the hype, right,as people say, oh, it's all the
(07:09):
huckies.
No, it's not always easy, butit's also part of your growth
journey, right?
But what we recognized at somepoint in our around COVID is
like a lot of businesses we had.
No, everything disappearedrevenue wise.
So we had to think about thenext 10, what does it look like?
And what we realized was youknow, this communication of
personal branding was really notproductized in a way that it
(07:32):
was accessible.
People go personal branding oh,I'll hire a publicist or I'll
hire a speech writer or I'llhire a social media team.
No, they start with strategy.
So we figured out that itwasn't out there.
No, they start with strategy.
So we figured out that itwasn't out there.
So we said, okay, let's startit as a product under our
company and see if there'ssomething there.
Oh well, we discovered therewas something there.
(07:52):
Get over ourselves an 18-yearlegacy that we had this business
that we built together and wehad to say but now we're moving
(08:18):
towards something new.
So there took a little bit ofangst and challenge to do that.
We made the decision, westarted the new business and we
haven't looked back and we'rehaving the time of our lives now
.
Nicole Tuxbury (08:28):
That is amazing.
And having honest conversationswith yourself, because you have
to admit this is not working.
You have to have enough insightinto yourself and enough
honesty and right to be able tosay that to yourself and to your
partners and be like how can,how can we make this different?
To be able to say that toyourself and to your partners
and be like how can we make thisdifferent?
How can we pivot.
And I think that's amazing.
So you bring up an importantpoint.
(08:49):
Branding is not social media.
Branding is not publicity.
Branding is not writingarticles.
All of those things are great,but it's not branding.
So when you talk about branding, can you kind of solidify it a
little bit for us?
And what does it mean?
Like, what is branding?
Alan Mclaren (09:06):
Well, I'll make it really simple.
So we always use the wordpersonal branding because it's a
little different than corporatebranding.
But let's think about this whenyou walk in a room, your
personal brand shows up beforeyou do Right, and when you leave
the room, it's still there,because people are describing
you.
Nicole, when you touchsomebody's life, they're going
to say something about you.
(09:27):
When you're not there, are theydefending you, are they
protecting you, are theycelebrating you?
That's essentially what apersonal brand is.
So if you're known as a giver orsomeone who lives with their
heart, or an intellectualwhatever that is, the perception
of you is the reality.
It may not be what you want,but the perception is reality.
(09:47):
So the question is what dopeople say about you when you're
not in the room, and is it whatyou want them to say?
And how do you close that gap?
Well, you close that gap withsome of the tools that you
mentioned and say okay, now Iknow who I am.
Is that what I want the worldto know?
And then it's a question ofsharing your gifts with the
world.
So, in my case, I share myknowledge of leadership and my
(10:10):
knowledge of personal branding,and I never sell a thing.
I want to teach you how to doit, and if you do it, I feel
inspired that you've done it.
I'm really happy that you'vedone it.
You want a little lesson fromleadership, happy to share my
perspectives.
So once you do that, then youdetermine the communication
vehicles for that.
A podcast is one of thevehicles to share your story.
(10:32):
And writing articles, doingvideo, doing social media all
those are communication elementsthat you should use, because
you get to communicate with thepeople in your life already and
they're the ones are going toget you to the next group.
So that's how I would describepersonal branding.
It's a transformationalexercise if done right.
But you know, can't see thelabel from inside.
(10:53):
The jar is exactly the point.
Get some help because you can'tsee it yourself.
Nicole Tuxbury (11:00):
I love that, and you know, when you talk about
branding, you think you're goingto say, oh, the logo and having
your shirt and your littlefreebies when are they, the
little freebies?
When you go to events and likethat's not at all what you are
talking about.
And all of these things, though, support the branding that
you're talking about, right, andI absolutely love that.
(11:21):
That is absolutely fantastic.
Alan Mclaren (11:22):
The difference is you think about so in the case
of an entrepreneur, who is thecompany?
Let's in your case, right?
So it's really impossible toseparate the two, right?
At the end of the day, theovercome yourself t-shirt is you
, because you have a story.
I don't even know your story,but I know you have a story to
get to where you are today thatsays, okay, that's what I'm
(11:44):
about and I want to share thatknowledge with the world.
You do that via a podcast, bybringing other guests and get a
chance to share that story.
Well, there are another 30 or 40ways to get it out there when
you have time, money and energyto get it out there, cause
that's that's the biggest thing,right, the other day it was so
we've incorporated into ourworkshops that the gentleman
(12:05):
shared with me says you know,change is hard.
It requires time, energy andmoney and money.
It always requires money ofsome type.
But but are people prepared forchange when they're not
prepared for transformation oraction?
They're not.
So that's what we try to do issay, let us be the wind beneath
(12:25):
your wings, let's get a littlecrazy for a second, but let us
help you get there so you cannow flourish in a big way, and
it's just the coolest thing whenpeople realize that, humbly,
they have this talent and nowthey're able to share it with
the world.
So that's it.
But it is about the human,because that's the trusted
(12:46):
source versus the company.
Nicole Tuxbury (12:48):
I love that.
And actually this podcast wasborn from me writing my book.
It's in editing right now.
But I started as a book andthen I was like, ok, the book is
done, it's with my editor, whatam I going to do between now
and the time the book ispublished?
To talk about this book Likethere's got to be something,
like it doesn't just exist.
(13:09):
Then how do I bring it intoexistence?
And now we're coming up on 100episodes.
And it was a journey of sittingdown and asking myself what do I
have?
10,000 hours of experience andlike really looking at my life
(13:29):
and just like a little quickrecap, my mom died when I was
one and a half.
I got into a boat accident whenI was nine, hurt my back.
Nobody believed nine year oldme had back pain and so I just
lived my life as if that didn'texist.
And then, when I was 21, I wentto the doctor and found out
that I had the back of adisabled elderly woman and I
(13:49):
would be in a wheelchair in fiveyears if I didn't quit my job
as a server carrying trays andchange something.
So I had to go on a journey ofwhat the heck do I do now, and
from that.
That's where my book was bornfrom.
That's where I had to learn howto make money without having to
leave my house, sometimeswithout having to leave my bed,
because, like I was stuck thereand I've been strengthening ever
(14:12):
since and then so my book, andthen my podcast, was born from
that.
And so when I really learned totake these pieces and be able to
say this is my story, like thisis what happened to me, like
this is literally my life and Iovercame it, and now I can show
you what I did, that you can do,and you know it's hard, and I
(14:35):
interview so many people andtheir stories.
Like I'm so humbled by people'sstories.
Like you know what it is tobuild a business for 20 years
and then be like this doesn'twork.
Like that, that's scary, right,that's really, really scary.
And so I commend you and peoplethat have lost their children,
people that have gone through somany things with their bodies,
(14:56):
like it's just, it's justincredible and to see these
stories of resilience and youknow to share that with the
world, right, so that's whatwe're here to do.
So I think it's amazing.
Now tell me a little bit moreabout your tips for branding, so
like, if I want to control mystory, right, I want to go out
(15:18):
with my story.
How, how do I do that?
How do I share with the world?
Alan Mclaren (15:23):
So you use the example of a book, right?
So once you've got clarity onwho you are, so let's use your
example, would be perfect.
So you have perspectives in astory and there are many that
have overcome great odds, butyour odds are your odds and your
perspectives are yourperspectives.
There are other people thathave lost parents at one and a
(15:45):
half that don't necessarily havethe same perspective because of
where they grew up, how theygrew up did they have a good dad
or didn't act like.
All those things influence you,well, but they're all
extrapolated to overcomingyourself, right?
So you've chosen to write abook.
What we do with people say,okay, if you're not writing a
book, how do you lay that storyout?
(16:05):
What are the influences of?
You didn't remember when youwere one and a half, but
whenever you started rememberingthat, what were the memories
and what were the things thatheld you back, like, so those
are the perspectives that areprobably in your book, right?
And now you say, okay, how do Ibreak that out?
So we tell people is lay thatout as if it's a book, lay it
(16:27):
out for a year and startrecording videos on your phone
30 seconds, one minute, get thestory out there and then, when
you're comfortable with it,maybe you start popping that on
social media, and so as so whatwe do with some authors, you
start popping that on socialmedia, and so as so what we do
with some authors.
There are authors that havebooks coming out.
We say to them let's take somekey elements of your book, start
(16:50):
to record videos of that as aprecursor to the book, getting
people excited about the book.
And then when they want to readthe book, they get the full
experience.
But they get to.
You get to capture them early.
So it's the same, whetheryou're running a coaching
business, consulting business ora cookie business, doesn't
matter.
People are interested in yourstory because there's a reason.
(17:10):
You started a cookie business.
It didn't just come out of theblue, something happened.
So that's what it is.
Look at it like a book.
Lay out your chapters 12 monthsof the year, four weeks in each
month on average.
Okay, what would I want to talkabout?
And then you lay out yourcontent plan.
We recommend video because it'sthe most authentic, right?
Podcast video is more authenticthan audio, right?
(17:32):
So because you get to see andlike or dislike the person,
whatever you choose to do.
So we do recommend that.
Practice, practice, practice.
Learn how to tell a story.
Most important thing is learnhow to tell a story in two
minutes and you can practice ituntil you're tired of practicing
it.
Don't post it until you'reready.
(17:53):
But I'll tell you the otherside of that.
When you do that, I do probably50 to 60 videos a year and
they're easy to do.
Now I did one just before westarted Five minutes.
I had an idea, pushed thebutton done, video's done, sent
it to my editor.
We're done.
No edits, we're done Becauseyou get practice at it and it's
good.
(18:13):
And think about this as apersonal brand.
Now when you go to an event,you're not long-winded anymore,
you can be successful andimpactful and that's really cool
.
So that's kind of number one.
(18:33):
Number two is whatever youchoose to do, don't get hung up
on production value.
Nobody, they just want you.
So on youtube, you have to havea thumbnail, because that's
what youtube wants.
But if you're on linkedin ortiktok or instagram, just let it
be your face.
That's what people want to seeand not a lot of b-roll.
And Because then it feels likemarketing and it feels like
selling yes, not building trust.
So that's the second tip Iwould do is do that.
And then the third tip is start.
(18:54):
Start by getting on yourLinkedIn, if it's a business
thing, and start commenting onother people's stuff.
Start getting the algorithm torecognize that you exist.
Start to grow your audience andthen start your content plan,
and no one will come to yourparty.
At the beginning, no one'scoming to you, that's good.
Nicole Tuxbury (19:12):
That's good, because then you can mess up.
You can mess it all up.
Alan Mclaren (19:15):
You can come to the party now, but one video
could change everything.
Yes, Right, so I get last week,Friday, Monday Instagram posts.
Someone reaches out to me fromNew York Can you do a speaking
gig in New York for us?
Just sign the contract today.
Two days later, On Monday,someone saw a 30 second post in
(19:39):
Cyprus Cyprus, and I had a callwith the next day and she says
yeah, I want to do business withyou.
I didn't know these people froma hole in the ground.
And that's what the opportunityis.
If you're out there and you'rehonest and you're true to
yourself, stuff's going to startto happen for you If you're out
there.
If you're not out there, you'renot going to know what you're
missing because it's not goingto pop on your doorstep.
(20:00):
So get out there and startwould be the biggest tip I could
give anybody.
Don't be, I love it.
Nicole Tuxbury (20:08):
Yes, take imperfect action, what I always
tell my clients.
Actually, I was thinkingsomething you said earlier.
I have a whole chapter in mybook called you've got to want
it.
Um, like that transformation,that that the goal.
You've got to learn to want itand be able to keep it right.
So that's such a big part.
And something else that yousaid is you were talking about
(20:31):
video attracting, repelling.
Like you're already a niche.
Just by being you as yourself,you're attracting and repelling
people.
So why not be as much you aspossible and just attract and
repel the right people?
Like, if you don't like that,I'm bubbly.
Goodbye, I'm not gonna be lessbubbly.
Like, just stop watching myvideos, right?
Alan Mclaren (20:53):
the picture on your podcast, right it's you
have.
You exude a personality, right?
If that's the authentic you,that's it, because I'm not gonna
be funny.
I can't get up on stage andtell jokes.
I just can't part of who I am.
So I know what I'm good at, Iknow what I'm not good at.
I don't pretend to be somebodyelse, end of story.
And you don't pretend to besomebody else.
(21:15):
Authenticity is the name of thegame Truth and living.
If you are a heart centeredperson, then you lead with your
heart.
If you're a head-centeredperson, it's hard to lead with
your heart.
Then it's okay.
People appreciate you as anintellectual.
That's why they'll follow you.
Gary Vaynerchuk right.
Some people don't like himbecause he swears like a crazy
man, right, but he's authenticas heck.
(21:36):
He is who he is and he doesn'tcare, and he attracts the right
people and repels others.
Nicole Tuxbury (21:42):
And his market loves him.
Alan Mclaren (21:43):
And people love him because he's not playing any
games.
And that's all we're saying isyou can really be you.
Dr Seuss was right, you canreally be you.
And then, yeah, if you attract1,000 people, think about that,
how many people would you havein a speaking gig or listening
to this podcast?
If you get 20, 30, 50 peoplelistening to you, they know
(22:10):
hundreds more and they'll helpspread your message.
So that's what I would say.
Nicole Tuxbury (22:12):
Yes, and then it's also the effect of like
commercials, right, because whenthey see you everywhere, right,
cause you, you shared a podcastepisode.
Now they see you on the videos.
Like you make shorter videos.
You record a video here.
You share a blog post, you'retalking about your life on
social media.
Wow, this person is everywhereand we need those touches.
(22:32):
As salespeople, we need like 70touches it used to be seven,
now it's like 70 for them justto pay attention to whatever it
is that you're trying to talk tothem about, because there's so
much going on.
Um, so all of this is just gold, absolutely amazing.
Thank you so much, alan mypleasure.
Alan Mclaren (22:48):
One thing I'll say is it's absolutely true, it may
not.
Whether it's 70 or not, theyneed to spend time with you, and
the first time they spend timewith you and the second time
they'll want to spend it withthe third time and fourth time,
and you'll see that in youranalytics when you're on social
media and go well, look who's,I've got these new people that
are showing up from where?
Well, because we did a podcasthere that brought 10 more people
(23:11):
over, and it's a long game,right?
So let's not pretend it's along game, but I would encourage
, you know, I think we'll maybetalk about it before we wrap up,
but we have a tool that wecould help some of your
listeners with.
If they want to visit a pagewhich we can put in the post
later, when you're ready to getit out there, there's a gift
that we'll have for them onpersonal branding and a
(23:33):
worksheet that they can helpfigure out their own brand.
And then I was about to ask you.
Nicole Tuxbury (23:38):
So, yes, take it away.
Let us know about it.
Alan Mclaren (23:41):
Yeah, so we have a landing page that that your
listeners that we do it.
I do it for the podcast that Igo on, and it'll be a 30 minute
video that I've recorded with mybusiness partner, leanne, that
teaches you the ABCs of whatpersonal branding is and what
you can think about.
And then there's a worksheetyou can download that really
helps you walk through and youactually work through it and say
(24:03):
, okay, now I understand mystrengths, my credibility, my
all those things.
That's the starting point right.
And if, if you, if you love thatand it works for you, then just
get started.
And you know our world is.
We do, as I said earlier, we dothe brand DNA with our CEO
clients and then we eitherbecome their coach or we do the
work for them.
That's it.
(24:23):
That's the easy way to engagewith us.
We're a premium service, to behonest, so it's not for
everybody, but for the peoplethat do work with us, as I
shared with one guy yesterday, Isaid listen, if you don't like
us, you better like us becausewe're going to become friends.
And he said no, I like you guys.
I said because that's thewarning.
(24:46):
The warning signal is we'regoing to be working together
very intimately for the nextyear.
So just be ready that if youdon't really get that feeling,
then don't go ahead.
If you do get that feeling,then I think we'll have a good
opportunity for success together, and that's you'll find those
people in your life is what Iwould say.
If you're not ready to toinvest in in an agency to help
(25:07):
you, then then learn.
Go on YouTube, go to follow, goto our newsletter, follow my
videos.
We will teach you everything weknow, but you got to learn on
your own.
That takes a little longer, butpeople have done it but you
know what?
Nicole Tuxbury (25:22):
that's something that I talk to my audience
about all the time.
You're going to have to make aninvestment, and it's either
going to have to be your time oryour money, but you're going to
have to invest one of them.
So, if you don't have the moneyto invest right now, invest
your time.
And what you were saying aboutthe videos is every time someone
takes the time to watch one ofyour videos, that's a yes, and
(25:43):
you, you know, my big thing isgratitude.
Be grateful for that.
Yes, because they're saying yeswith their time before they say
yes with their money.
So the more that they say yesto you with their time, the
closer you are to getting yeseswith the money right.
Alan Mclaren (25:57):
Quick 20.
Second story A gentleman I'veknown for 20 years.
We were at an event togetherand every time I get there he
and his spouse say love yourvideo and they're really great.
They're really.
We watched them all the time.
I said that's awesome, that'sreally great, and that was it.
I never went any further.
One event he turns to me andsays okay, I'm ready, so ready
(26:18):
for what?
My journey with you?
I'd like to hire you.
I said I didn't even know youwere a prospect.
When did that happen?
He said well, I've been on yourvideos for over a year and I
think it's time for me so it wasa lesson for me to kind of
realize that you're makingdeposits in people's lives
without even realizing it.
He made a decision to work withus.
He didn't know how much, howoften, where I want to work with
(26:40):
you, cause now, although heknew me, now, now he trusted my
expertise yes, yes it was agreat lesson for me and all of
us have that in our lives if wepay attention to it as you
suggested.
You know being grateful ispaying attention to the good
right yes.
I wasn't necessarily evenpaying attention to that because
I was humbled by the praise,which I'm really hard to take.
(27:02):
Praise, well, I don't do thatwell, so I didn't see the
opportunity until it was smashedin my face.
I'm like yeah, so anyways, it'sa lesson to learn, another
lesson that is amazing andyou're working on getting better
at that.
Nicole Tuxbury (27:15):
It's not that you're bad at taking.
Praise is that you're learningto receive right, because when
we give, we also have to be goodat receiving and accept that
someone else wants to give right.
So I love that.
I think that is amazing.
So how can we stay in touchwith you and do you have any
final tips for the audience?
Alan Mclaren (27:32):
Well, staying in touch.
Our website, alan McLaren onLinkedIn would be a first step.
And just say that you know it'dbe great to say that you were
on Nicole's podcast.
Heard that.
Go to the landing page so I'llsend the links and we'll get
that all in there so you can dothat.
Sign up for our newsletter onthat same page so you can get
regular information.
And and what I would encourageis what I try to do with
(27:56):
everybody who's scared beforethey do it is just use LinkedIn
as an example and just startgoing on there.
15 minutes a day, 10 minutes aday.
Follow some people you reallylove.
You're not going to emulateGary Vaynerchuk or you know, or
others, but go see what they'redoing, see the different styles
and say what is me?
And then start messing aroundStarting.
(28:18):
Start, start, start.
That's the key and then you'll.
It'll evolve like a flowerblooms over time.
The beginning it'll be ugly,it'll be clumsy and that's all
good, and then after that you'llsee the benefits.
A year after you start doingthat stuff's going to happen to
you you never imagined.
But if you don't start.
(28:39):
That's why I always tell peoplethe opportunity cost of not
being out there is.
You don't know what you'remissing.
Really literally, you don'tknow what you're missing because
it's there.
Nicole Tuxbury (28:48):
You just got to be out there, and if you're not,
even the opportunities, thefree opportunities I've gotten
just from having my podcastright, like, um, like from the
podcast host, like I got ticketsto podfest last year.
They were like, hey, we'regiving away some tickets.
So like even being in thatworld has given me opportunities
that I never would haveimagined.
Um, and I want to point out thesales lesson um, for my
(29:12):
audience.
I just, I absolutely love howyou, um, you spoke to your
audience and you said, hey, thisis a premium service.
So like you didn't have to, youdidn't have to say anything
negative.
Right, you focus on thepositive and let your audience
know hey, this is a premiumservice.
So like, this is not a 25 thingwe're talking about guys, and I
think that's a huge lesson andjust the way that you phrase it
(29:34):
and, um, and just that theformula, like seeing it play out
, how you do, how it's aboutdoing what you're doing, the
service because you love it, andthen the money is coming on the
back end.
Like we're focusing not on thenumbers, because I'm like, make
videos and my client's like, butnobody sees them.
(29:56):
I'm like if you had 200 peoplein a room, you wouldn't know
what to do.
Right, make the videos becauseyou want to help those people,
not because they're seeing themright now and from that service.
Those are the seeds that we'replanting, right, and that is how
those seeds pop up.
But if you stop at six months,how is that person going to want
to pay you?
He didn't get to spend thewhole year with you.
(30:17):
So just such big, big lessonsthat you are leading by example,
right, and you're giving usthat example, all right.
So thank you so much.
Any last thoughts.
Alan Mclaren (30:28):
Just one thing Personal branding is not a
transaction.
You have one, you will alwayshave one.
Don't do it to get, do it to be.
Nicole Tuxbury (30:37):
Yes, I love it.
I would leave it.
Thank you so much, alan.
This has been amazing and allof the links that he mentioned
guys are going to be down in theshow notes in the comments,
wherever it is.
You're watching this and wewill see you next time on
Overcome Yourself, the podcast.
Thanks Bye.
Alan Mclaren (30:52):
Bye, thank you.
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