Romano B

BD Manager @BloFin_Official

[BloFin Exchange @BloFin_Official]

👉 https://t.co/Ud99WVyDYn

[BloFin Exchange @BloFin_Official]

Built for those meant to be the Whale.

[BloFin Exchange @BloFin_Official]

You just got this notification.

What's your next move?

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

How did Barbarians defeat Rome?

They didn’t attack the whole empire at once.
They chipped away, piece by piece.

Same goes for markets.
Solve one problem first, then tackle the rest.

When small,
Guerilla > Total war

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Carthage lost to Rome.

Why?

Because Rome never quit.

Lost a war?

Came back.

Lost again?

Came back harder.

Until they won.

& Conquered the entire Mediterranean.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Offer > Testimonials > Lead Gen Skills > Sales skills

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

95% 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗜.

Just like printing machines replaced scribes 500 years ago...
AI will replace content writers in the next 5 years.

This might sound like bad news...
But it's a game-changer for founders.

Even with a busy schedule, founders can still build a content strategy in 3 hours a week.
(𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀)

Here are 3 tools I use to write content 10x faster - without sounding like an AI bot:

1. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 for research.
2. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗣𝗧𝘀 to write drafts.
3. 𝗛𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗮𝘆 to edit AI-generated drafts - and add a human touch.

↳AI can handle the hard work, but our insights and personal touch are unique and irreplaceable.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆
(𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴)

Recently I asked myself:

How can a company position itself as the go-to solution in its industry and stand out from an OCEAN of competitors?

On Linkedin you'll hear:

"Start running Ads"
"You need a better content strategy."
"Hire a large sales team!" (and pay them millions in commissions)

But what if… there was a different way?

A way where we put human connections first?

This is the story of how Spendesk positioned itself as the go-to software for CFOs 👇

Years ago, the co-founder of Spendesk was on a mission:

Understand his ideal customers (CFOs) better.

His strategy?
Meet CFOs for pizza and beer in Paris.

Sounds unscalable, right?

But little did he know...

Over time, those "pizza and beers" turned into a big network of CFOs.

One thing he noticed:

𝗖𝗙𝗢𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵.

So he launched CFO Connect – A global community of finance leaders.

CFO Connect gives opportunities for CFOs to:

-Learn from Peers
-Network with Like-Minded Individuals
-𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿

Okay, it's all great for the CFOs…

But how does this benefit Spendesk?

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Spendesk positions itself as an industry leader.

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Spendesk builds a targeted and engaged community of finance professionals and their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: Spendesk establishes relationships within the community over time. People are likelier to buy through a nurtured community rather than jumping on sales calls.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽: Spendesk creates a system for continuous feedback on products.

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: Other companies noticed the value of their community and started asking CFO Connect to start partnership deals to promote their products within the community.

𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁: The more CFOs join the community, the more valuable it becomes.

As a result…

𝗖𝗙𝗢 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀…
↳𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗙𝗢𝘀

This is a great example of how community building can position a company as the industry's go-to solution.

Anyone can copy:

- Ads
- Content

But what competitors can't copy are…

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.

PS: Big thanks to Luc Hancock for sharing how he has led this amazing community for +3 years!

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆-𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀...
99% 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘁?👇

Content once set brands apart...
But it has now become a mere 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆.

So, how can a brand stand out - and protect itself against the AIpocalypse?

𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Or more precisely, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 30+ 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲.

Here are the 5 biggest differences between an audience and a community:

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

1. 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: You broadcast; they listen.
2. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: They consume and that's it - voilà.
3. 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: No interaction among members.
4. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱: They're followers, not participants.
5. 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Engagement dies if you stop.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

1. 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Everyone engages.
2. 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Members connect on shared interests.
3. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Members support and collaborate.
4. 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱: They belong and identify with the group.
5. 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Engagement thrives even if you step back.

Sounds too vague?

Here's an example:

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:

A SaaS sends out a weekly newsletter to thousands of subscribers who read the content...
But don’t interact with each other.

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 0.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆:

The same SaaS company has a community where users ask questions, share solutions, and help each other with product-related issues.

↳𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

Voilà, pretty cool right?

PS: What's more important to you long term?
A big audience or a community of raving fans?

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

The quality of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The quality of my thoughts depends on the quality of what I consume.

The quality of what I consume depends on the quality of my choices.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

One painful realization I had recently:

If I only know how to sell,
I'll always be selling someone else's product.

Selling someone else's product = Building someone else's asset.

Although sales are the core of every business,

I have to master:
-Writing.
-Delivery.
-Branding.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

I will solve your problems trust me > Let's find out If I can solve your problems together.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

What is draining the most energy during the sales process?

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Philosophy is overrated

It's a complete waste of time.

Say people with a 5-second attention span.

Philosophy taught me:

-The principles of sales.
-The value of daily writing.
-How to break free from the "Matrix".

Here are 3 philosophy books to survive modern society:

1. Socrates/Plato - Gorgias

Socratic questioning is a very powerful method used in sales to identify people's true motivations.

Socrates taught me the power of asking questions in sales to:

-Clarify goals.
-Identify pains.
-Challenge core beliefs.

And to listen to the voice of reason.

---

2. Nietzche - Beyond Good and Evil

Nietzsche helped me understand how to break free from the "Matrix."

He taught me:

-The meaning of "Power".
-The Master-Slave Morality.
-How to create my own set of values.

And to listen to my instincts.

---

3. Marcus Aurelius - Meditations.

Reading this book feels like picking the brain of the most powerful man in the world 2000 years ago.

Marcus Aurelius taught me that writing is the best way to collect and structure my thoughts.

---

Modern gurus just recycle 2000-year-old content.

Why not read the original content instead?

---

Want more?

-Follow @RomanoTalks
-RT this post

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Thanks for reading.

Roman

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

19th Century:

Europeans introduced Opium in China to numb people and take over the country.

It worked.

Hong Kong stayed British until 1997.

21st Century:

China introduces TikTok in Europe to numb people and to...?

You reap what you sow.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

In France, you have to learn music theory for 2 years before even touching an instrument.

This never made sense to me - How can I learn how to play piano if I don't even touch one?

Practice > Theory

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Bad sales rep = Not handling objections

Good sales rep = Handling objections

Great sales rep = Disarming objections before they even arise

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Rome was not built in a day.

But Rome was not destroyed in a day either.

It's a consequence of small decisions compounded over time that led to the empire's fall.

-> What small decisions I am making today could lead to my downfall?

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

Convincing others is time wasted.
I don't buy because someone convinced me.

People convince themselves.

Sometimes, people just need a little bit of help to overcome their own fears.

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

@AlexPototski We can see it this way as well

[Romano B @Romano_BloFin]

24 AD:

Roman emperors gave “Bread and Circuses” to distract the population from the real problems.

2024:

Governments are legalizing weed and normalizing playing video games to distract people from the real problems.

See the continuity?