We all want clients, right? Yet there is a subtle difference between getting a client and building a tribe of raving fans that will follow you to the ends of the Earth or Jupiter or Mars! I have noticed over the past several years that I can easily “get” clients but what saved me in 2016 when I nearly lost my business was NOT my clients, but my tribe of loyal followers.
What is a tribe? A unique and loyal group of fans, friends, and followers who believe in your worldview and come together because of shared ideas and values and will promote you to everyone they know because they LOVE what you are sharing with the world. This gives an ordinary person the ability to become a leader and make big changes in the world
In July of 2016, after already losing lots of money in my business earlier in the year, I left for a 5 week vacation with my daughter. We had built a dream trip as a gift for her graduation around a speaking engagement I had in London. A few days into the trip I realized something was very wrong in my business – my COO had disappeared during the middle of a launch that was supposed to be the main source of income for the next 6 months.
In the following months, I fired everyone on my team, took back control of my websites, got rid of all excess programs I was paying for, maxed-out all my credit cards and stopped paying vendors I owed. I went into hiding and began to decide what to do with my business. I decided to reach out to my TRIBE of loyal followers instead of filing bankruptcy. Within a year, I restructured my business. I made more money in the first 6 months of 2017 than I did in all of 2016, and within 9 months had surpassed all my previous years in business revenue.
Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. “We are living through and are right at the key moment at a change in the way ideas are spread and implemented. We are in this new model of leadership. The way we make change is by leading tribes”
Therefore, to create a TRIBE you must be a LEADER, a Love Leader. It is not enough to have a business or a mission, you must decide to LEAD your audience. As a leader, it is your job to create a tribe of influence that reaches beyond getting clients, but not just any tribe, a tribe that comes together for massive transformation. As an effective leader, it is important to create a culture, whether you are a CEO creating a culture among your employees or a speaker creating a culture among your audience.
TRIBES can change our world, not because you force them to follow you,
but because they want to CONNECT.
Find something worth changing (your Masterpiece Message), assemble a tribe, then that tribe assembles tribes, and that creates a raving fan base. It is NOT about mass numbers, instead it is about a dedicated number of TRUE believers that find value in your mission and message and are dedicated to your truth that will spread the word FOR you. That is a tribe, which is very different from “getting clients.”
Creating a tribe is about learning to be a Love Leader. A Love LEADER is someone who LEADS their tribe to the TRUTH and opens them up to new experiences. I have been creating my tribe for 7 years and observe how people tap into trends. What is the secret to things becoming VIRAL, like flash mobs? How did people like Oprah or Dr. Oz become a leader that created mass movements of change? These leaders instinctively developed a certain process that created a tribe. This process works in any arena from the corporate office to little league!
The process of creating a tribe is broken down into 5 basic steps. These 5 steps create loyal raving fans that LOVE you, share you and your work organically, and will eventually become your tribe. Building a tribe is not something you can FORCE, you can’t throw money at it or create a bunch of online systems and think everyone will just come. It isn’t about you, your product, or having the perfect website (actually, you don’t even need one).
Step 1: Be a Leader.
You can not build a tribe without first being someone that people are willing to listen to and lead them to a truth or belief. A leader has a voice and a Masterpiece Message. A leader wants to create Global Impact and change something in the world. They are tired of the status quo and willing to stand for something different that may be unpopular or controversial. They are willing to take risks and stand out. They are authentic.
Step 2: Fill a Void.
Tribes are created when you, as a Love Leader, bring together a group of like-minded people that feel disconnected but are yearning for something and are waiting for someone to show them the way. Ask yourself: What pain am I helping to alleviate? What void does my Masterpiece Message fill?
Step 3: Give Value.
Building a tribe takes consistency and persistence. People come to you because you have filled a void – you have led them and now you must teach them consistently and give major value. Share information and educate them about your beliefs and why it is important. Tell them before you ever offer any products or services.
Step 4: Transform Them.
It is not enough to educate your tribe and bring them value. It is necessary to show them how to implement and create the change on a small level themselves. Show them it is possible. When your tribe knows change is possible they will TELL others and share your message, therefore creating organic growth.
Step 5: Show them LOVE.
Remember, this is about your TRIBE and not about you and your product. Love them up. Fall in love with your tribe – not what you want to teach or sell them, and they will fall in love with you.
If you are struggling to get clients or want to take your business to the next level, then create a tribe and stop trying to get clients.
Click here to schedule a free 30-minute Intuitive Intelligence Discovery Session with Melissa
– and learn how a Tribe can help your business.
Leave a Comment