Quarterly Newsletter

75% of the year is behind us, only 25% left. Are you on track to reach your goals? If not, there’s still time to make up ground. Even if you miss them, pushing hard in Q4 will help you build momentum going into 2024.

The third quarter was a little more relaxed on my end because most of July was taken up by vacation and celebration. We celebrated my father-in-law’s 96th birthday at the beginning of the month then we went to Germany for a wedding. We spent a few weeks in Central Europe and the Alps were stunning!

During the quarter my TEDx Talk finally hit YouTube and quickly surpassed a million views! Thank you to all of you who took time to watch, like, and/or comment on it. If you’ve not seen it yet, click here … and make sure to watch to the end for a surprise.

Sincerely,

Brian

What’s Influence PEOPLE all about?

Why – Help you achieve more professional success and enjoy more personal happiness.
How – Teach you the science of ethical influence.
What – Speak, write, train, coach, and consult.
Who – Clients include leaders, salespeople, business coaches, insurance professionals, and more.

Here’s What’s New…

Speaking

I returned to Denver, Colorado, my third time in just over a year, to keynote the annual conference for the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado (PIIAC). PIIAC knows how to host a conference! During the quarter I also had the opportunity to return to my old company, State Auto Insurance, to spend time with the PaceSetter agents. If you’re a new insurance agent, hands down the PaceSetter Program is the best new producer sales training you can get in the industry.

Writing

You’ve read this before – work continues on my next book.

The title is His Story, My Story, Our Story: Eternal
Lessons of Fatherhood, Sacrifice, and Service.

The cover has been finalized, the editing is finished, and
it’s being formatted as I type this.

The publisher is aiming for release to bookstores in early
June, just in time for Father’s Day.

Click here for another sneak preview.

Podcasts

I posted a couple of new podcasts episodes during the quarter. Here are the most recent episodes for your listening enjoyment:

Wanda Wallace invited me to join her on, Out of the Comfort Zone, to explore concepts from my book, The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness. Specifically, we discussed the following questions: 1. How do you influence without manipulating? 2. What are the steps to influence? 3. What are the essential ingredients that make influence successful? Here’s the link to watch on YouTube.
Rick Fox made a move from Vertafore to Brightway Insurance and started a podcast for the agency. He invited me to join him once again to talk insurance sales and relationship building using the principles of influence. You can catch our conversation here.

Best of…

Below are recommendations for you when it comes to reading, listening, and watching. We may have different tastes but I’m confident you’ll get some takeaway ideas from each just as I did.

Read

Pre-suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade is the NYT best-selling book from Robert Cialdini, PhD. Because it was the basis of my TEDx Talk I thought it only fitting to highlight it. What you do before you attempt to influence someone can sometimes make a huge difference when it comes to hearing yes. For example, one studied showed how a yes response to “would you be willing to share your email address” went from 36% to 75.6% simply by posing a question just before asking people for their email address. You’ll learn about directing attention, how mindsets can influence decisions, what triggers might change someone’s mental state, and much more. I know this approach works because without it, I might not be married today. You’ll have to watch the TEDx Talk to find out why. 😊

Listen

Discrimination and Disparities is an audio book I listened to by Thomas Sowell. Sowell is one of the most brilliant economists of the last 60 years. A black man who was born in the segregated South, grew up in Harlem, served in the Marines during the Korean War, was a Marxist in his 20s, and became one of the leading free-market economists of his time. The book explores and challenges a myriad of accepted ideas in today’s society. Drawing on data going back 100 years, Sowell refutes many of today’s tightly held beliefs around race and the impact of government intervention and third-party intellectuals who have no stake in the policies they espouse. I find Sowell’s work fascinating, and you might too.

Watch

Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) is a 2021 documentary by Rachel Boynton I found on YouTube TV. Rachel Boynton interviews a diverse group of Americans (young and old, black and white, Northerners and Southerners, etc.) to find out about their views on race, racism, and the implications of the Civil War. It will challenge your thinking as you listen to a wide-ranging views about what led to the Civil War and the consequences that linger today. To learn more about the documentary, visit IMDB.

Brian Ahearn

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE and a faculty member at the Cialdini Institute.

An author, TEDx speaker, international trainer, coach, and consultant, Brian helps clients apply influence in everyday situations to boost results.

As one of only a dozen Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, Brian was personally trained and endorsed by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by Book Authority. His follow-up, Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents, was an Amazon new release bestseller. His latest book, The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness, is a business parable designed to teach you how to use influence at home and the office.

Brian’s LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by more than 650,000 people around the world. His TEDx Talk on pre-suasion has more than a million views!