My TOP Influencers Outside The Roofing Industry

I've been asked over and over again, Adam, who do you follow? Who has inspired your life? The way you think, the way you communicate, the way you sell? And, you know, the reality is most every single one of those people came from outside the roofing space, in far corners of the copywriting world, the digital marketing world, the business world. And all these folks, I've either read their books, listen to their podcast, combination of all of that, and these are the people that have really inspired me the most. And I know that if you're tuning in to this podcast or you're watching these videos, I know that you're someone who wants to invest in yourself to fuel your mind with new ideas, new ways of doing things, better ways to communicate, better ways to sell. So I wanted to bring up some that I never saw, except there's one name that's overlapped, by the way, in the Facebook discussion group, people ask like, who's an influencer that you follow? And who do we turn to when we need, you know, a good podcast or book? And these folks here listed again, with the exception of one, has not been listed inside the roofing community. And I discovered a lot of these folks. In fact, when I took a break from the roofing space, I took a break after for the third time, second or third time, dealing with just some not good people in the space. And I stepped away and I stayed in the direct sales spaces and acted as a direct response copywriter and sales consultant, writing sales pages, Facebook ads, email campaigns, direct mail sequences, and coaching sales teams to bridge the gap between the marketing and sales side. And I've had an incredible opportunity to move mountains, driving literally over 100 million in sales in a three email sequence. For specific type of life insurance, I got to work with one of Oprah's top 50 most influential women running a campaign that lived on her website. She built it and sold it. I even got to work with a financial technology company designing and even writing all the email campaigns, including the Facebook ads that would drive new eyeball onto their page and book a call with a financial advisor that's being licensed by folks all thousands of advisors all across the US They've even been featured as one of the fastest growing financial technology companies. And through all of this experience is how I've been able to kind of bridge the gap of traditional sales, sales and other avenues in home sales and really understanding not only buyer psychology, but learning to not only serve tens of thousands of roofing sales reps, but thousands of sales reps outside the roofing space. And in this video I kind of want to marry these two because I've had experience, unlike some in the roofing space by staying in roofing, leaving roofing, but staying in direct sales and having this wide breadth of hands on experience that I got to learn in the trenches and much of which was by these top influencers and you know, shooting straight with you. I have filmed this video three or four times now and each time I threw it out because I felt like I was giving away my trade secrets. And I'm at a point in my life where I am practicing vulnerability sharing with no attachment to the outcome, just saying. I just, I'm here to help folks. So anyway, there's no secret sauce in this video other than directing you down some cool rabbit holes. But it felt vulnerable to me to kind of share all the folks that I've assembled, their teachings and trainings to deliver to you what you see now applied in the roofing world. So without further ado, let's turn our attention to my top influencers that change the way I think, the way I communicate and the way I sell. There are on this list and let's get to it. Hey, as we do, by the way, let me get this thing going. This new free training center that we have, you'll see it here. You can go to the roofstrategist.com free or just text the word free to 303-222-7133. That's 303-222-7133. Just text the word free. We'll pop you a link. But when you get in there, I've got a recommended reading list, the top 82 books. I think it's actually the top 90 books, every single one of them I've read and they're the ones that I truly believe are worth it. I, I don't put every book on this list, but many of the folks who I mentioned in here are in there. So get in the free training center and get access to that book list. I do keep it up to date. The most up to date version is inside. Alright, first and foremost we got Brian Tracy. If you've been tuning into the channel at all, you've seen that Brian Tracy has influenced me in a tremendous way. And I got to meet him actually at the SRC summit. I think it was 2014. He spoke there and it's phenomenal. But Brian Tracy's book specifically goals how to achieve everything in life faster than you ever dreamed possible was the single book that I read when I first got into Roofing sales, to take my goals and literally put them on paper and figure out and engineer my plan to achieve my first six figure income and actually broke that goal, exceeded that goal by about 40%. It was phenomenal. And I attribute that to Brian Tracy. I purchased, I spent like this was back in the day when you get books on CD, spent like 300 books, 300 bucks on a box set of CDs. I've at to date listen to or read every single thing Brian Tracy has ever published and highly, highly recommend for motivation, goal setting and practical ways of applying these concepts. He breaks down the theory into practice. All right, next on the list is one of my favorites and that is a gentleman named Joseph Sugarman who is one of the greatest direct response copywriters of all time. And to shake down for those of you who might not be familiar in this marketing world what a direct response copywriter is. They're a sales hitman for hire. They are folks like Joseph Sugarman ran an agency and he actually operated the town that I grew up in, Northbrook, Illinois. And in that town he had a business and basically he had a mail order business. So people with products would come to him and say, write a killer sales letter or an ad to sell our products. And at this time, this is back when someone like Joseph Sugarman had to write an ad and someone, let's see if I have a, have one of these nearby. Someone would receive a letter in the mail, like a traditional letter. I can't seem to find one on my desk right now. I thought I had one. They'd receive a letter in the mail and they'd have to open it, read it, be like, I want to buy that thing. And they'd have to like run across their office or their house and find the envelope and go to the other side, get a stamp and they get their checkbook and have to physically mail order by writing out a check and popping it in the mail. And Joseph Sugarman had record breaking sales, even down to selling a small smoke detector, a commodity item. And he broke records on it and inspired one of the presentations I give on beating the cheapest bid. Maybe you've seen it, you've been out some of the Owens Corning events or inside the Pitch Pro movement. I've taken a lot of these concepts and applied them in roofing sales. Heavily inspired by Joseph Sugarman. Two books. One is the Adweek Copywriter's Handbook. And I know what you're thinking, hey, I don't write, so it doesn't matter. Let Me tell you, all the concepts apply. And Joseph Sugarman, as most of the direct response copywriters and marketers, like the greats of our time, they all started in door to door sales. So Joseph Sugar may be a good one to keep an eye on. He wrote another book called Triggers, which are things that make people take action. Alright, next, another marketer, Dan Kennedy. Have you guys ever seen the proactive commercials? This guy right here, Dan Kennedy is behind, he's the mastermind behind the proactive campaigns and a whole bunch more. And I've been inspired by his series of books called the no BS series. And many of them are listed. I haven't read every single one, but, but many of them are listed in that recommended reading list. Dan Kennedy is someone to turn to for mindset, time management, strategic business decisions and all things sales. And in fact, Dan Kennedy didn't even operate via email. If you had to communicate with him, you had to send him a fax. And the fax went to his office person who then screened it and then gave it to him to then make calls. And he didn't carry a cell phone or let anyone have his number. The guy guarded his time and is a total powerhouse and is one of the most well paid marketers of our time because of the accomplishments that he's had. So check out the no BS series by Dan Kennedy. Fantastic, fantastic books. Next on the list we've got Simon Sinek. And I know many of you are thinking, hey, I read that book. Start with why? That's actually not the one that got me into Simon Sinek. It was his book called the Infinite Game. And Daeshaun Bryant and I talked about it. Roof hustlers, Daeshaun, fellow mentor in the pitch pro movement, by the way, and we talked about Simon Sinek and the Infinite Game and this concept of a game that never ends, whose rules are always changing, that is the game of life and of business. And it changed the way that I bring myself to my work, the meaning I apply to it and how I view, quote, unquote competitors. And truthfully, with what Simon Sinek shared, I really don't believe I have any actual competitors. There's no one in my space that's offering what we provide in terms of the holistic suite, including the marketing material, including the leadership, including the sales stuff delivered in the same way at that price point, like it just doesn't exist. But I know that this space in sales is crowded, right? And Simon Sinek shifted my mindset of looking at them as a worthy adversary as opposed to a competitor. And he lays out a lot of examples. So Simon Sinek and the Infinite Game. Great book on mindset. Great book on leadership and applying meaning to your personal development and growth, albeit business or on the personal side. Next one on the list is a guy who I did not like very much when I first ran into him, and that is Russell Brunson, the creator of of Click Funnels. If you've spent any time in the digital marketing world, you've heard the name Click Funnels. And like Dashaun Bryant says, he says to me, you don't have to like someone to learn from them. So when I checked my ego, I started to be a lot more receptive. Russell Brunson really gets into the psychology of what moves people when it comes to messaging and communication and the tactical side of getting people to convert and take action and how he can marry the two. So Russell Brunson wrote a lot of books in the marketing world. And even if you're not, if you're like, hey, well, I'm in sales, not marketing, the concepts apply. And I really, really, really like what Russell Brunson has to say. Well, some of it, not all of it. But anyway, check him out. Next one on the list most people have never heard of, and frankly, I didn't. And that is a gentleman named Perry Marshall. Perry Marshall is one of the pioneers behind Google pay per click advertising. He's like the silent marketer that all these crazy successful businesses would hire, but no one really knew about him. And he pioneered a whole lot of innovative strategies, especially in the digital space. But what Perry Marshall has done really well, specifically in his book 80:20 sales and marketing and his other book called Detox, Declutter and Dominate, phenomenal read, only 64 pages. It actually changed how I positioned our programs and has inspired a lot of what I do. So Perry Marshall is a guy to turn to to find more effective ways to problem solve within your own sales or in your own business. Again, the 8020 sales and marketing book or the Detox, Declutter and Dominate. It was a book that he wrote that was supposed to be like 40,000 words and he got it down to 36 pages, I want to say. And I thought it was kind of chintzy because it was expensive, but I bought it anyway and I read it and I had so many notes like it was just really powerful, actionable steps inside that book to absolutely blow it up. All right, next one on the list is Joe Polish, which is going to combine with Dean Jackson. So These two, Joe Polish and Dean Jackson, both of which also marketers and the cool thing. Joe Polish came from the carpet cleaning world, so in home services. And he again pioneered ways to grow his carpet cleaning business and market it and has become a leader in the marketing space. He runs a phenomenal mastermind as well along with Dean Jackson. Dean Jackson, also a phenomenal marketer and both of these guys run a podcast called the I Love Marketing Podcast. That's where I have tuned into them the most. They give, give, give, give, give. So if it comes to sales, communication, buying, psychology and strategic moves to make in your marketing and sales aspects of your business, these guys are great to listen to. Jump onto the I Love Marketing podcast, you can jump back into historical episodes and download the ones that you like. So really phenomenal people. All right, next one on the list. I would be shocked if you've heard of Michael Masterson. Drop a comment. Michael Masterson. It's actually his pen name, meaning it's not his real name, but he has written for a copywriter many, many copywriting books. Everything that this man writes is sheer brilliance. So if you're looking for inspiration to find the most digestible and clearest way to take your big ideas and condense them into short punchy headlines, ads and messaging that really resonates with people and moves people to take action. Michael Masterson is a brilliant mind and his books are harder to find. I think they're only available on Kindle and then in print. Again, rare books. Get your hands on them. If you're interested in sales and sales psychology in communication and messaging, Michael Masterson is one that you do not want to miss out on. The next one on the list, Robert Cialdini. If you've been in sales for more than a day, you've probably heard of or read his book Influence, which he breaks down as a professor. And the six most powerful influencing factors and how these frameworks can be used, whether it's social proof or authority or reciprocity, and how we can implement this within our sales ecosystem based on studies and studies and direct experience. He's had to say, hey, these are the six main elements that move people or influence people to take action. So read his book Influence and he released a more recent book called Pre Suasion, which is everything leading up to the point of influence that tends to influence people even more. And I really like that one. It's a dense read, so take your time with that. Alright, last two on the list. First, I've seen this one. This is the name that comes up in the roofing groups, and that is Alex Hormozy. And when I first stumbled upon him, I know the guy came from the gym world. He's kind of bro y. And I was like. And then I started listening to what he had to say on his YouTube channel and podcast called the Game. And I was like, this man is brilliant. When it comes to strategic decisions in business, where to apply our time and how, along with how to sell and how to package up our products and services to be totally irresistible, Alex Hormozi is truly a force to be reckoned with. I absolutely love the way he thinks. I love the fact that he marches to the beat of his own drum. I love the fact that he's built this massive empire and a business portfolio over $150 million and doing so in an innovative way, writing his own rules. So Alex Hormozi wrote a book called the. Excuse me. He wrote a book called Gym Launch Secrets, which is about launching gyms, by the way. Everything applies to what we do. And he also wrote another book called Hundred Million Dollar Offers. Phenomenal book for anyone in sales about how to present your offer in a truly irresistible way. So check out Alex Hormozi's books and his podcast the Game Now. Oh, I lied. We're not at the last two. We got more. There's two on here that kind of go together. Jack Schaefer. Oops. Hang on a minute. Jack Schaefer and Joe Navarro. Yeah, there we go. Joe Navarro and Jack Schaefer. So who are these two guys? Jack Schaefer and Joe Navarro are both FBI agents. And those of you who may have joined me in an Owens Corning event or speaking event or had me out to your office to train, you probably heard me talk about Joe Navarro and Jack Schaefer a ton. Because FBI agents inspire me so much. They have access to virtually endless resources thanks to the tax dollars even I pay. And they can investigate through high stakes environments like spotting foreign spies in the US or interrogations to test theories and concepts at scale. So if, like, Joe Navarro is the guy when you want to learn about nonverbal communication, he's the man that helped me understand that I thought I was pretty good at reading nonverbals or knowing body language and realized I know nothing. And he helped me learn how to modify my body language to communicate more clearly, but also to observe. But it was more about how to. That was my key takeaway. How can I carry myself to communicate more clearly? And then Jack Schaefer again FBI agent, wrote a book, the Like Switch, wrote another book, the Truth Detector, both of which are great. And then Joe Navarro's book, I forget the full title. Body Language, something. All right, last one on the list, Marcus Sheridan. So Marcus Sheridan has inspired me a ton. In fact, the direction that my YouTube channel has taken was directly from reading his book called they Ask youk Answer. And Marcus Sheridan presents at the Roofing Process Conference. He was there a couple years in a row, third year I think, coming up now, and I got to meet him last year and walk up and shake his hand and it was amazing. We got to spend time over the break Talking about the YouTube channel, the growth, and how I've taken the concepts that he laid out in his book and adapted them to not only our industry, but kind of a different business model than his traditional business model. So if you're someone who wants to get into content marketing, making videos, writing blogs, becoming more magnetic, creating an amazing experience, experience and content is your move. Marcus Sheridan's book, they Ask youk Answer is an absolute must read and I recommend going to Roofing Process Conference this year to go see him. By the way, if you're going, get your VIP ticket because I'll be running a workshop Sales workshop kickoff on. I believe it's the 14th. It's the first day before the event officially starts. It'll be a two hour sales workshop and I cannot wait to see you there. I actually have some exciting news that I'll be sharing at the event. So there you have it. My top 14. Correct me if I'm wrong, top 14 people who have influenced me the most change the way that I think, the way that I communicate, and the way that I sell. If you're looking for tools and resources, then hop into our free training center so you get access to my recommended reading list. Now I want to hear from you. Who did I miss? Who is the most influential person or people in your life? Drop a comment below and let's charge it up by fueling each other and giving us resources to turn to so we can all dive into some books and some podcasts that really fuel our mind. I. I know a few that I've heard in the Pitch Pro movement from members, but I'm going to wait because I'd love to hear from you. So drop a comment and share the most influential people, podcasts or books that you've read in your life. It'll help us all out. There you have it. Thanks for joining me. Just because our time here is about to wrap up doesn't mean your and my time has to. So if you haven't yet done it, hop into our free training center right here. Or hang with me right here on YouTube and jump into this video. I think you're really going to like it. We'll see you soon.