Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley

I’m not quite sure about how I came across Daniel Priestley’s Key Person of Influence , but the title automatically interested me. Influence plays an important role in professional success, so I am always trying to learn more about how people increase their influence.

Daniel states that “Key People of Influence enjoy a special status in their chosen field because they are well-connected, well known, well regarded and highly valued” and that through the book a reader will learn “The Five-Step Method to become one of the most highly valued and highly paid people in your industry”. Not only will you become a Key Person of Influence, but if you follow his system you can “become a Key Person of Influence within your industry in the next twelve months”. Now who doesn’t love a promise like that?

Influence is a hot topic. As a marketer I have seen how the role of influencers has increased drastically in marketing campaigns. People buy from people and brands and business want to do business who those who influence others. Influence is modern day currency and Daniel argues that “your most valuable asset is the number of people who know you, like you and trust you”.

Before you can become a Key Person of Influence “You have to pick something that you are going to become known for and you need to start promoting it and turning money away anything that isn’t quite right”. Basically, you need to choose your niche and Daniel actually encourages you to choose a micro-niche. He states that “From a tiny micro-niche big things can grow, but it almost never happens that a business sets out to please everyone and actually achieve it”. So once you know the micro-niche you want to become a Key Person of Influence in the real work starts.

The Five-Step Method is:

1. Pitch
2. Publish
3. Product
4. Profile
5. Partnership

PITCH is about being able to communicate your message. PUBLISH is about writing a book. PRODUCT is about having products that people can buy and creating a product eco system. PROFILE is about making sure you have a great online presence. PARTNERSHIP is about working with others to expand your reach and raise your profile.

On the whole, I agree with the five-step method. However, when it came to the topic of writing a book Daniel’s attitude made me angry. Daniel believes that anyone who wants to be a Key Person of Influence should write a book. He suggests that you “choose a title that reinforces you are a Key Person of Influence. It should be a brand enhancing and you should feel proud to tell people that you are the author of that book”. He is treating the book as the new business card and it is all about how being an author changes people’s perception of you.

Daniel argues that “it is not vital that your book is a massive seller, it is more important that you are an author”. As an avid reader who believes in the power of books, I despise this attitude. I believe should Books should be written to improve the lives of others. They are a way of sharing your knowledge with the world and you should write it with the intention of selling lots of copies and benefitting lots of people.

Overall, Key Person of Influence was an easy read with a clear structure that you can follow. The principles make sense and I am sure someone who follows them will see their influencing power increase. Would you be a Key Person of Influence in a year? Well, I would like to meet someone who has done it.