Susan Friedmann [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Book Marketing Mentors, the weekly podcast where you learn proven strategies, tools, ideas and tips from the masters. Every week I introduce you to a marketing master who will share their expertise to help you market and sell more books. Today, my special guest is Israel Duran. Israel is a business strategist, speaker and mentor. He helps purpose driven entrepreneurs grow profitable businesses. He helps people build their own platform and scale their message. As the founder of Israel Duran and Associates, he's guided over 300,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, generating more than $2 million in sales. Israel is also the bestselling author of Service of Speaking how to land three stages in 30 days.
Israel, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the show and thank you for being this week's guest, expert and mentor.
Israel Duran [00:01:06]:
Susan, thank you so much for having me on here. I'm looking forward to the interview.
Susan Friedmann [00:01:10]:
As you and I were talking before the show, I mentioned that so many of our listeners are either speakers, coaches, trainers. Many of them want to become speakers. They want to get onto stages, but they don't know how. What's the first step that you think that they should take when you're talking about your three stages in 30 days?
Israel Duran [00:01:39]:
I love the question, Susan, and I believe that question is great. Like what's the first step before we ask ourselves that question? I always love to ask the question, are you ready for more stages? There's a great principle that I love to teach, Susan. It's called the principle of the leak or the law of the leak. And it goes like this. I don't live next to the water, and I know you live in New York as well. So you and I are a little bit of ways of the water. But there may be someone listening that actually lives next to the water. Imagine there's this huge beach and there's this huge ocean.
Israel Duran [00:02:18]:
And the ocean, Susan, represents more stages, more opportunities, more growth. And then we have in this beautiful sandy beach, amazing sand. But about 100ft from the waterline, we find ourselves with a table. And this table actually contains different size containers. We have some small containers, we have some really, really big containers and we have some medium sized containers. And let's imagine for a second that each of those containers that are on the table, they all have one thing in common. The one thing that they have in common, Susan, is that they all have a hole inside of them or a leak. And the leak to each container is as big as.
Israel Duran [00:03:06]:
So if it's a small container has a small leak, as fast as water is coming in, it's also coming Out. And the same is true for the big containers and the medium sized containers. Follow me up to now, Susan.
Susan Friedmann [00:03:16]:
I am, I'm fascinated. I've got these three containers on my table. What's happening to them?
Israel Duran [00:03:23]:
And then on the side of the container or the side of the table, let's imagine for a second that there's this huge, like, bucket, okay. And this bucket actually is very special because this bucket represents what you get to keep, or the water that you put in this bucket you get to keep. And the capacity of this bucket is actually infinity and beyond, meaning that, like, this is impossible for you to fill up this bucket. It can literally fill the ocean's capacity of water and more, and it still won't be filled. Right. Here's what happens with a lot of entrepreneurs, authors and speakers, Susan. They go up to the table and they pick their container, let's call it a medium sized container, and they walk down the 100ft to the ocean to capture more opportunity. They try to capture more stages or more sales, more leads.
Israel Duran [00:04:15]:
Right. As they grab the water in the container, they walk back towards the table to put the water that's in the container and transfer it into the bucket, which represents what they get to keep. And when they go and do that, Susan, what do they discover?
Susan Friedmann [00:04:32]:
There's less water in the container than they had when they filled it up in the beginning.
Israel Duran [00:04:37]:
Yes, exactly. And I know it's a simple and silly story, but here's what happens with 90% of authors and entrepreneurs, Susan. They go back to the table, they typically throw out the container that they had that didn't have any water in it because it was leaking. And. And they go and they grab a bigger container and they repeat this cycle. They go back down to the ocean, they try to go grab more stages, more opportunity, and then they come back up to try to transfer the water into their bucket and they discover the same thing, that there's not as much water in there like they thought. And why is this relevant to the conversation? Because you, as someone that is an expert at not only helping people with their book strategy, but also helping them sell the books in bulks, which is huge, because a lot of people are trying to struggle by selling books one on one, and that's the outdated version. And you help them really up, level their game to sell books in bulks, which is beautiful.
Israel Duran [00:05:33]:
So you understand this. But someone may be listening and they feel like they're trying to get more, but there's something leaking in their business. There's something leaking in Their enterprise. Right. I love to start with this, Susan, because before we start talking about going after key stages, we. We first have to ask the question, are we ready for more? Do we have leaks in our business? Because if we do, it doesn't matter how many more stages we get, because we can get on these big stages, which we'll talk about, or get on some small stages or even build our own stages, but if we don't keep what we're capturing, it's not going to be in our best benefit.
Susan Friedmann [00:06:10]:
Yeah. Wow. That's dynamite. And I love that question. Are you ready? Because you might think that you're ready and as you say, you're going after something bigger than you can perhaps even handle.
Israel Duran [00:06:27]:
That's it. Because here's what I typically tell people with the beach of Abundance story. This illustrates what I call the principle of the leak. Every business owner, every author, every individual, we all typically have one leak or one blind spot or gap. Sometimes there may be two or three, but typically there's like one underlining leak that's almost like a linchpin. It's almost like the thing that's holding back us from exponential growth or even some momentum in our business. So going after more opportunity is great. All I just recommend people to do is just make sure you have some other things in place, make sure you plug in your leaks, so as you go for more, you get to keep more of what you capture.
Israel Duran [00:07:11]:
I have a passion of making sure, before we show people how to build their own stages or get on other stages, making sure they have the right systems in place, the right processes in place, so they can maximize those stage opportunities when they show up and share their gift with the world.
Susan Friedmann [00:07:29]:
Israel, what I'd love you to share are maybe a few examples of some of these leaks, these blind spots. Because often we don't know what we don't know. There may be this blind spot, but because it's blind, we can't see it. What are some simple examples that you come across frequently?
Israel Duran [00:07:50]:
Yeah. I'm reminded of a man in his 40s. He's a coach. He's also an author, also someone that has a nonprofit. He came to us because he had something that was working well. He had a product that he was selling that was based off his book, and he was doing well. But he was stuck because he felt like he wanted to reach more people. When we sat down with him and identified where his leak was, specifically, his leak was in his marketing and his sales process.
Israel Duran [00:08:22]:
What we decided to do with him, Susan, is we built out a new marketing strategy along with a sales funnel, and we launched an event with him that really took him to the next level because it plugged in the hole of him having a process that he can qualify the right people that were in his industry. He specifically helped people with their finances and helped them build wealth. So he fixed that problem. And simultaneously, we also installed a sales funnel that was also a leak. Because this gentleman would get on stage and people would love him, but. But he had nowhere to send them to. It's like he got on stage and people were like, well, where can I learn more? And it's like, here's my business card. And he missed out on a lot of opportunities.
Israel Duran [00:09:07]:
So before working with us, that's what he was struggling with. And then after him working with us, now he had that leak plugged in. As we went after more, he got to make more money because nothing was spilling through the cracks, if you will. A lot of speakers are like, hey, get me on the biggest stage you can get me on. And I'm like, okay, do you have a funnel in place? Do you have an email list in place? And they're like, funnel, what email list? What? And that's a perfect example of what I feel a lot of authors and speakers in this age can relate to.
Susan Friedmann [00:09:40]:
Yeah. Especially starting out. I've spoken about this, and we've had guests talking about this. They've got lots of followers on social media, but they don't necessarily have their own list. It's a matter of getting your own group, your own peeps, your own tribe so that you can promote to them as well. Now, something that I'd like you to talk about is in your book, your service of speaking, you have a framework to promote and to attract clients. Can you take us through that framework?
Israel Duran [00:10:21]:
Yes, of course. In every single one of my frameworks are built and founded based on principles or laws. Right. I'm a big believer that success leaves clues and success is duplicatable. So I have spent the majority of my life, and I continue to do so, studying history and reading and learning from people that most of them are not alive. Because I believe that there's a lot of secrets that are hidden. And just like the law of gravity, we don't have to guess if I took a water bottle and dropped it, that it's going to go to the ground. It's going to go to the ground 100% of the time because I'm following or implementing the law of gravity.
Israel Duran [00:11:02]:
I love to teach people with the same assurance and reassurance in teaching them laws. With your permission, I would love to share a law that is actually the foundation of my framework and then I would love to dive into the framework itself.
Susan Friedmann [00:11:15]:
Absolutely, go for it.
Israel Duran [00:11:17]:
The law or the principle of monetization or the principle of impact, Everybody wants to make an impact. And my framework is based on the goal of it is for people to make an impact with their life. But in order to make an impact, Susan, we're going to need to have resources. So the law of impact, the law of monetization, teaches us how to do that. Everything begins with step number one and it's education. Now, I know some listening what may say. Well, that, yeah, that education. But let me qualify what I mean by education.
Israel Duran [00:11:50]:
When I say education. I'm talking about specialized education. I'm talking about education learning from experts and mentor and expert marketers. As you interviewed a lot and you are one yourself on how to accomplish what you desire to accomplish. For example, let's say somebody wants to get their books out there and they want to do it in a new way that is guaranteed to get them more exposure. They're going to come to you, Susan, because you're an expert, you specialized one of many of your gifts and your gift things of helping people do. So they come to you as a specialized mentor to learn the education so they can reverse engineer how to do it. This is extremely important, Susan, because most people were brought up with the college mindset.
Israel Duran [00:12:41]:
And I'm not against college. I have my master's degree and I'm an educated man in the general sense. But what I found, Susan, is that specialized education has been much more valuable to me in my life from an ROI perspective. Return on investment and return on impact. And it's changed the game for me that education. I would recommend for people to really hone in on not just college education or traditional education, but specialized education. And that's step number one.
Susan Friedmann [00:13:11]:
And that's where their book comes in. Because many of our authors are teaching through their own experience in their book. And that helps make their books so valuable 100%.
Israel Duran [00:13:27]:
Because there's a saying that says he who reads lives thousands of lives, but he that does not read is only limited to one. When we read books and when you launch your book, you all that are listening to us and you launch that next book. Because some may be listening, Susan, and say, I already wrote my book, well, there may be another one in you. It really does humanity of service and it allows people to learn from your life and. And your mistakes. And that's a great thing. Someone doesn't have to spend another five, 10 years trying to figure out what you learned because you've made it available for others to learn.
Susan Friedmann [00:14:03]:
Yes, and that's so, so true, because so often people write their book because they've overcome an adversity. They found the answer to a challenge. Yes. So many different reasons. And it's so funny that you talk about your first book and maybe there's a second one. So many authors, once they finish their first book, say, I'm never going to write another book. And then a year later they come back and say, you know, I'm feeling that I'd like to write another book.
Israel Duran [00:14:38]:
Yes, and you should. If someone's right now, they have that thought, I would highly recommend you to lean into that. And, Susan, step number one is just the beginning. There's four specific steps, by the way, with the principle of monetization, of the principle of impact. The second step is one of my favorites, because when done right, number three becomes very easy. And step number two is what we call building out leverage systems and leverage tools. For every industry or market that you want to break through in, you have to understand that you have to break through that market, and there's a process to break through. And inside of step number two, when we talk about leverage systems, there's actually a practical process of doing so.
Israel Duran [00:15:25]:
And I learned this from nature. And there's typically three steps of breaking through. It's kind of like when you plant a seed, when you replant a seed. Susan, and my wife loves to garden. She plants a seed and it has to go into the ground in the dark, in obscurity, where nobody sees it. We have to be comfortable with that. About doing the hard work where nobody sees us, about studying where nobody sees us. It's about being consistent where nobody sees us.
Israel Duran [00:15:54]:
We gotta be willing to go through some obscurity in any new market we want to go into. And then step number two with that, Susan, is typically what we call resistance. As we go through that obscurity or in that darkness where nobody sees us and we're starting to build that momentum. You're trying to get your books out there, and it's like nobody knows who you are, and you're trying to build some of that momentum, then resistance will hit you. And this is where most authors and speakers, Susan, they give up at the level of resistance. You know, they get a little bit of pushback. The publisher is not able to deliver, or something happens or Something comes up and it's like, oh, you know what? I don't want to spend the energy on this. And they back up.
Israel Duran [00:16:33]:
But that's a mistake, I would say, SUSAN because the good part is right there. Like, if we just persevere through resistance, like a seed, when they go through the ground and they break through that resistance, we're eventually going to hit step number three, which is acceptance. It's when that plant comes out of the ground, and then now it's in the light. And now when it's in the light, then it starts to get some acceleration. So when we do step number two correctly with building out leverage systems, building out leverage tools that are actually valuable to the marketplace that we're looking to serve in, automatically step number three will happen.
Susan Friedmann [00:17:08]:
SUSAN and step number three is, step.
Israel Duran [00:17:12]:
Number three is influence is influence. And that word influence, a lot of people hear that word and maybe saying, oh, I already know what influence means. Or some people may not like the word. But influence is not manipulation. Influence is the measurement of leadership. The way that we measure leaders is not by the titles that they have or what's in front of their name or the accolades that they possess, but the way that we measure leaders is through their influence. It's who is following them, not because of a title, but because of their influence. Here's how I define influence, or here there's three core elements to build influence.
Israel Duran [00:17:53]:
And I love talking about this. I could talk about this for literally days, and I do, actually, in our trainings, step number one with influence. SUSAN and you know this because you do this very well. It's showing strength, and not strength in the sense of pride, but strength in the sense of emotional stability. And there for others to be able to show that strength to others. Step number two is empathy. Now, this is something that a lot of my friends, some of them get me on with this. But being able to have emotional intelligence, being able to cry when necessary, to connect with your audience, being able to be vulnerable in your books and your stories and your speaking opportunities, that is key.
Israel Duran [00:18:34]:
And I see a lot of people, they hide some of the difficult moments they've gone through. SUSAN but that's part of having empathy and showing empathy and connecting with the audience. And then step number three is simply showing kindness. What I found when leaders really lean into showing strength, empathy and kindness with the people that they're looking to serve. And influence, influence comes very, very easy compared to someone taking the other approach of, hey, this is my title, you have to follow me, and I can.
Susan Friedmann [00:19:08]:
See why you asked that question at the beginning. Now, are you ready? Because listening to you go through this framework, it's like, whoa, there's a lot more involved in. Before you start saying, okay, I want to be speaking to huge crowds, so let's jump and can we get into how can they actually get themselves on stage? And talking about those four different stages. Yes, let's talk about those stages that they can get themselves on.
Israel Duran [00:19:43]:
Sure. Just to close the gap there on the four steps of the principle of impact or principle of monetization. Step number four is monetization. Once you build that influence with that market that you've gone through the obscurity, you've gone through the resistance, and you got that acceptance, then you'll be able to monetize. And then when you monetize, then you're able to make an impact. And the impact that we're referring to is making the impact on stage. One of my best stages, Susan, is especially. I learned this through the hard way, through Covid, by the way.
Israel Duran [00:20:16]:
I learned this through actually some difficult moments in my business. And I'm so thankful because I went through some pain so others don't have to go through the same. And right before COVID happened, I was in a position where I was doing okay, but it wasn't anywhere near where we're doing now. And really I felt like I was like under my potential and I was looking for ways of connecting with more people, looking to try to get on other stages and, you know, to share my message out there. And Covid really did this for me. Because Covid, they made me cancel my corporate contracts with any venues that I had for my in person events. We were forced to go online. But thankfully I had already positioned some systems and stages to build my own platform online.
Israel Duran [00:21:06]:
And it really helped me during COVID Susan, because I wasn't dependent on anything brick and mortar. I wasn't dependent on any in person stuff, even though that was a big part of my business. And I'm so glad that I was positioned beforehand and that's my message to people. For the first stage, before you try to go on a TEDx stage, which we can get you on, or an impact stage or other opportunities that have your audience. The first step is, is to really build your own platform and to build your own stage. Why do I recommend this, Susan? Because for two reasons. Number one, when you have your own stage, it makes you more desirable for other people that have stages and platforms to partner with you or invite you. But number two is really the most forefront, it's for you to make sure that you protect your family, you know, protect your livelihood.
Israel Duran [00:21:57]:
Maybe you writing a book or you being an author and entrepreneur is not your main source of income. Unfortunately, like many of the people that we've served, they were fired when Covid happened and they had to start to produce with their own business. Having your own stage and having your own systems in place, whether you're a full time entrepreneur or not, is in your best interest, especially where we're headed with AI. Everything is changing and everything is about to change. So that's the first stage that I recommend, Susan.
Susan Friedmann [00:22:26]:
Yes, and it's funny you talk about COVID and how this made a difference in so many people's lives, especially speakers, because so many of my colleagues in the speaking business had full calendars on one day and nothing the next. It was soul destroying. And depending on how nimble you were in terms of adjusting to this new environment was whether you would survive or not. And many people didn't. However, you saying that you'd already built your stage beforehand, unbeknownst to you that this was going to happen, I mean, that was brilliant.
Israel Duran [00:23:11]:
Yeah, I can't take credit for it, Susan. It's just sometimes catalysts come that kind of shake things up. And a catalyst did happen for me. And September 5, 2018, I got into a car accident. That really shifted a lot for me. I was, in my own way, I was hiding, I was stuck because I knew I was called to do more. But for whatever reason, I was playing small. And this car accident came into my life four days after my second daughter Annabelle was born.
Israel Duran [00:23:42]:
I have five children now, all with my beautiful wife, Jessica. And it was a very emotional time for me, Susan, because I discovered that life is really short and precious. And I had actually had a book that I was supposed to release a year and a half from September of 2018. And I actually released a book, Susan, you'll be proud of me, in two languages, within three weeks from that car accident. And that book has opened doors for me that no amount of money can buy and has really set the trajectory for me to even be in front of you today or being on your amazing show.
Susan Friedmann [00:24:17]:
Yeah, I mean, you're right. It's living in the now. And also, as you said, I mean, I've had this too, where I was hiding. And it does take courage. But if you're not out there and people don't know about you, how can you even get on stages? Wow.
Israel Duran [00:24:37]:
That's it.
Susan Friedmann [00:24:38]:
So what are some Other opportunities?
Israel Duran [00:24:40]:
Well, online, there's a main thing that we help our family members, we call our students on making sure that they have in place, and that's speaking systems and online scalable systems. I have met some incredible people via the Internet, but you and I met via the Internet and I continue to meet some incredible partners, clients, connections, lifelong relationships through this beautiful thing that we have called the Internet. But it wasn't until I got my systems in place and my structure in place that I started to actually reach the people. So really leaning into that because once you build your own stage, there's other stages that you can get on, such as the free platforms that are out there right now. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. Like, we have a few videos that have gone viral simply because I decided to use my phone and share the wisdom, the principles that I have in my heart and mind to the world. And other people benefit from them. And these platforms allow for me to have a voice and they share my message out there for free.
Israel Duran [00:25:49]:
That is something that a lot of people, Susan, are missing out on. And I meet incredible experts, incredible authors, like almost every week. Nobody knows that they exist because they, like we just shared, are not out there for whatever reason. So that's definitely stage number two is leveraging the social media platforms for your benefit.
Susan Friedmann [00:26:09]:
And then you talked about, I know in your book you refer to obviously other people's stages and then TEDx, but again, that's further down the line and asking that question, are you ready? Are you ready for a TEDx? Because it's not necessarily what everybody thinks it is. You've got to be ready for it. I know that it takes over a year sometimes for people to get ready with the right kind of training to have the right message and to be able to convey it in what, 14, 20 minutes. I mean, very strict timing.
Israel Duran [00:26:50]:
We have several students that we've helped them land TEDx conversations and connections and been able to help them land TEDx opportunities. But not only that, it's also exactly what you said. Knowing what to do and to say and to be on those stages are important. And not only on the TEDx stage, but on any stage. So one of the other passions of mine is not only helping speakers and authors and entrepreneurs get on more stages, but also making sure that they're ready for the stage, not by just the systems and structure, but they're speaking and their connection and again, their empathy when they speak, when people hear them speak, they create a remembrance of them in their mind. And there's an Impact that is actually created with that opportunity.
Susan Friedmann [00:27:35]:
Israel, this is an incredible segue for you to share with our listeners how they can find out more about you and the services you offer.
Israel Duran [00:27:45]:
We were speaking a little bit before we started the record button and and I shared with you. I would love to give a no cost gift. This is actually something that we typically charge for, but because of you, Susan, and we wanted to give something special to your audience, we can actually send out them our online business blueprint that will actually walk you through on exactly how you can take your voice, your books, your products, your services, your vision out to the world via the online process. And it's based on what we've done building our business. And it's also going to walk you through the beach of abundance or the principle of the leak to help you identify very practically where your leaks may be so you can cover those leaks and at the same time capture more opportunity. All people have to do, Susan, is go to IsraelDuran.com and when they go to IsraelDuran.com they can click on my Instagram logo and that'll take you to my Instagram account. And if you send me a message with the word blueprint in it, just a direct message via my Instagram, our team will go ahead and send that out to you. The Online Business Blueprint.
Israel Duran [00:28:53]:
I'm hoping that it helps a lot of you again cover the leaks, but also help you get ready for more in your business.
Susan Friedmann [00:28:58]:
Well, that's so generous. Thank you so much. And I know many of our listeners will take advantage of that. Listeners do, because this is an incredible opportunity. And as you know, Israel, we always end off with our guests sharing a golden nugget with our listeners. What's yours?
Israel Duran [00:29:19]:
Anytime anyone ever asks me that, Susan, in ending a podcast, I always say the same thing. And that is exactly what I wish somebody would have told me 10, 20 years ago. And it's discover your gift right now and begin serving it. Begin serving it in the books, the products, the services, the vision, the nonprofit, the business that you have inside. It's time. The world needs you. Serve your gift to the world.
Susan Friedmann [00:29:43]:
Beautiful. Oh, that touched me. Because yes, we've all got our gifts and often we don't know what they really are. So spending time and really taking the time to discover that gift and then how you can share it with the world and as you rightly say, book is one of the steps that you can do that and of course, speaking to those larger audiences is another. So thank you so much for sharing your wisdom,Â
And listeners. If your book isn't selling the way you want it or expect it to, let's you and I jump on a quick call together to brainstorm ways to ramp up those sales. Because you've invested a whole lot of time, money, and energy, and it's time you got the return you were hoping for. So go to bookmarketingbrainstorm.com to schedule your free call.
And in the meantime, I hope this powerful interview sparks some ideas you can use to sell more books. Until next week, here's wishing you much book and author marketing success.
Here's how to connect with Israel:
Instagram - DM Israel for your copy of his "The Online Business Blueprint"
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Get your copy of Israel's Book: Service of Speaking: How to Land 3 Stages in 30 Days Â
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