Two weeks ago my brother-in-law let me borrow his copy of The Catcher in the Rye. He knew I was interested in reading more classical English/American literature. He asked if I’d like to read it because he had it lying around somewhere.
Now I didn’t know what the book was about. I had heard the title a long time ago in English class in high school. But I never read it.
Still I said yes. I was excited to read it. I really was. At that time I was still reading To Kill a Mockingbird. But I finished it quickly to hop into this new book I’d gotten.
I just finished reading The Catcher in the Rye today. The story is engaging. I just love how it’s written. And I’d recommend the book to others. It’s a great read.
But remember how I didn’t have a clue what it was about before I started? Yet that didn’t hold me back from picking it up. It’s not like my brother-in-law recommended it to me. He just told me he had it and asked whether I’d like to read it. I didn’t even ask him what he thought about it.
So then why was I so excited to read it?
Social proof & authority.
It was a widely popular book. I had heard it somewhere before. I knew it was supposed to be good. That’s all.
There weren’t any fancy marketing tricks. Salespeople didn’t make me feel the pain. Copywriting didn’t tell me about the benefits. Funnels weren’t used to nurture me.
This goes to show you just how powerful social proof & authority really are. That’s why people build a personal brand. Having a personal brand (and an audience) gives you social proof & authority.
A personal brand allows you to sell your products and services to people without having to use fancy sales & marketing tactics. They’ll trust you just because of your social status. They’ll trust you because they see other people trust you as well.
Don’t sleep on this opportunity. Build your personal brand and learn how to make people want to work with you as much as they’d like to read The Cather in the Rye.