Welcome to the Virtual Antics Podcast, where we help entrepreneurs streamline their business to six figures and beyond. These short, sweet and info-packed episodes will inspire, educate and leave you feeling motivated to take one more step forward in your business. So put down your never-ending to-do list, because in this podcast we are interviewing the best of the best in the entrepreneurial world as they spill their secrets to success. This podcast is sponsored by Nadora, the all-in-one software for entrepreneurs to grow their business, with unlimited landing pages, automations, emails and text campaigns, and so much more. I'm your host, natalie Guzman. Now let's get into it. All right. Welcome everyone to another exciting episode of Virtual Antics, where we dive deep into the world of innovation, entrepreneurship and all things digital. I'm your host, natalie Guzman.
Speaker 1Today we have a truly exceptional guest joining us, none other than the visionary marketer and sales expert, daniel Dunn. Now, daniel's journey into the realm of marketing and sales began nearly two decades ago. Fast forward to today. He stands as a co-creator of the groundbreaking X-Factor Effect methodology system that's transformed the businesses of over 20,000 students and clients worldwide. But what truly sets Daniel apart is his mantra different is the new, better. He believes in empowering entrepreneurs to stand out in a crowded marketplace, not by conforming, but by embracing their uniqueness. His framework of nine pivotal pillars paves the way for businesses not just strive, but to dominate as market leaders. So grab your headphones, settle in and prepare to be inspired by the one and only Daniel Dunn. Welcome, daniel, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2Hey, natalie, the mastermind behind Nadora, helping so many people, you're amazing. Thank you, natalie. I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1Hey, I'm so happy that you're here because we actually met at PodFest this past January, which was so amazing. It was so cool to meet you and then you offered to send me this really cool marketing box and I fell in love. I was like I need them on the podcast right now because we could all use a little bit of help with marketing, Right.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, I'm super happy that you enjoyed the box. That's that's my way. If we're talking about standing out, is that? That's that's my way. So, um, I I talked to multiple people that own podcasts and they're like, yeah, most of the time people send an email and talk about how great they are and you know, that's just the standard.
Speaker 2And and then I was like well, I got to do things differently, right? So that's my way of doing things. It's like, hey, first I'm going to send you this really cool box and, uh, that's my way of starting the conversation and the relationship, so that's my way of of breaking through the noise, standing out from the crowd, at least when it comes to guesting, becoming a podcast guest, so. But we've got. We've got a bunch of tricks in our bag of for for any, for anybody that needs to break through the noise.
Speaker 1Yeah, and I loved it. Even I was like cute little light bulb thing. So it was like spark some new ideas. You got a light bulb inside a box Like it was the coolest thing. I absolutely loved it and it really got me starting to think about, you know, my own company and my own branding and how can we stand out in our marketing? Because I feel like you know, especially in the world of social media, these days we're just talking about Instagram and I feel like it's so hard to stand out. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and your ideas on this.
Speaker 2Yeah, well, normally we go deep into, like, where people have their problem.
Speaker 2One of the big problems, natalie, people run into when it comes to standing out is in their market, whatever they're selling, they're being compared side by side.
Speaker 2And then if it's an apples to apples, side by side like comparison, then usually who has the lowest price ends up being that determining factor.
Speaker 2And so if in any way, shape or form, you're competing on price, then everything that we teach when it comes to the X factor effect methodology, it was built in a way so that we can help you discover so many differences that make a difference and so many cool X factors that help you stand out in the sea of sameness. We stack all those differences in a way so that you become such a unique unicorn inside of your market that it's really really hard to be compared to by price and compared side by side to your competitors. And we try to do it to the point where you can eventually say that your competition is somewhat irrelevant because of the way you do things being so different that your differences are just just night and day compared to your competition. So the trick is like how do we get to that point? How do we get to that point? And that's where we go deep into those nine pillars.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's really interesting. So I actually was just creating, before our call, creating a presentation of different softwares podcasters can use, you know, to edit their video and audio for a presentation. I'm doing and I literally created a chart and it's like these are all the features. Does this program have it? Does it have it? And the first column is price. And I was like I already know that they're going to try to choose the lowest price, but the one I like is a slightly bit higher than the lowest, but it is so easy, user-friendly.
Speaker 1So a lot of these people I'm talking to are not techies and so having user-friendly program is like and they market themselves as that is so, so useful for them. And I that was one of the things I was thinking of when you were talking I was like, oh yeah, you know I would usually go for the lowest price, but because they mark as user-friendly, that's the one that I would recommend to everyone. So what? How do you start finding out? You know what, what you can really like, market on, like, you know you say about, like, our user uniqueness, what makes you different? Is it what makes us different than our competition? Is it what our target market needs more Like where do we kind of start with that?
Speaker 2It's kind of a mix of all of that. So we get people that are like, oh, you're just, like are you just teaching, like the blue ocean, red ocean strategy? And we're like, no, actually we have tons of people in red oceans that are using these techniques as well. So, like differentiating, like who, like the market that you're going after and how you serve, and all that like blue, blue ocean type of stuff. That's part of it, but it's a very small piece of it, cause there's actually a lot more than you can do. A lot of people think, oh, it's just blue ocean, red ocean, because blue ocean strategy book was just so popular. Um, but there's actually a lot, a lot, a lot of things that you can do, um. And then, when it comes to pricing, you got to realize that a lot of the times, when it comes to a value proposition and the way that you're doing your pricing, there's a big part of the market like bigger than we think that they are not price shoppers, like that is not how they approach, how they buy things. A lot of the times, in the markets that we serve, the big majority of people they value other things above the price. So they'll value identity, they'll value tribe, they'll value experience, they'll value quality over the price, and so it kind of depends on the market. So if we're talking about SaaS because you brought that up, natalie, let's let's stick with that as an example.
One of the first things we have to go go after when it comes to the nine pillars is we have to start with the most boring pillar first, usually, and that is avatar. And I know people have jumped on your pod and we're trying to be different, and people have jumped on your podcast all the time and talked about the importance of you know defining your avatar. It's if you're listening to this and you're like rolling your eyes and you're like, oh, avatar, again, you have to start with the avatar. There's no like like 80% of business owners make the mistake of not well defining which avatar they're going after. But when you dial that in, it is a differentiator when you figure out, oh, I'm going to go after this demographic, or I'm going to go after baby boomers instead of millennials, or, you know, gen Z or whoever it is, and then, within that, if you niche it down even more, okay, it's baby boomers that they value and they enjoy this type of entertainment and these types of brands and these types of experiences, and they identify with X but not Y and with Z but not beta, and so when you really dial in all of those differences, it's kind of the starting point, like you have to go after that. So, for anybody that's listening, once you get past the boring part of Avatar, then you can get on to the more exciting things.
Speaker 2And I'd like to point out a story that, or an example, natalie, when it comes to Avatar, just so that we can wrap up this one big, most important concept, most people fall into the trap of believing that like, for example, mcdonald's, they think McDonald's they just serve everybody. So, like they don't have specific avatars, they'll sell to old people and young people, and they'll sell to black and white and Asian and they'll sell to. They sell to the poor, they sell to the rich everybody goes to McDonald's. Well, at the end of the day, it looks like from the outside point of view, the McDonald's sells to everybody, but McDonald's is smarter than that. They are the most popular restaurant in the world. So they too, at some point realized that they needed to start targeting their marketing message and then the marketing and their ads and everything that they do around specific avatars. So what they've done and this is a super advanced strategy is they have actually have divisions inside of McDonald's where they have marketing teams for different avatars. For example, natalie, you and I both have kids and there is a whole marketing team for those McDonald's happy meals, and they're, they're, they're creating these amazing ads, all you know, with the coolest toy of the month, and, and, and, and the kids. They want the happy meals because they keep on seeing these ads. Those ads are for which target market? Are they for us? Are they for our grandparents? Are they for our kids? They're for our kids.
Speaker 2Now, take that same example and say, okay, what's a different avatar? They have a whole marketing team around the McCafe. Okay, a whole marketing team for McCafe. All the drinks, all for all the coffee drinkers out there. They have specific ads only targeting that avatar the coffee drinker.
Speaker 2Okay, what about people that are more worried about their fitness? Well, there's people that they need a healthier option when they go to McDonald's, when they're dragged along by their friends and family, because they are the healthy person and they only eat a certain way. So there's these McDonald's like salads and you know all these different flavors and everything. You know chicken options and everything and it's with the objective of going after that specific type of avatar, because that avatar is specific as well, and there are a whole, there's a whole team specifically dedicated to the creation of that type of ad. Now, does that mean that you need a different marketing team for every single avatar that you're going after? No, that's super advanced. What McDonald's does, what we need to do, is we need to start with one and we need to dial in on in one, and Natalie, you're a perfect example of this. You've dialed in your avatar Pretty dang well, haven't you?
Speaker 1Yeah, I like to say so.
Speaker 2So what? What are the type of like with your avatar or everything that you've just defined? Like, what do you go after that your, your competition or some of your competition doesn't necessarily go after?
Speaker 1Ooh good question, um, so you know they're service-based entrepreneurs always and they have to make at least, um, uh, six figures.
Speaker 1But what we like to say is that they're podcasters or they like to use podcasting for, you know, to get awareness, or in there in the podcasting space. And I think that's what sets me apart is because I was able to really, you know, get into pod fest and get into all these podcasting groups and was able to get my name known and now people are referring people to me because of those connections, whereas if I just left it open to all service-based entrepreneurs, it'd be really hard to know where to start. It'd be like do I go to like local groups, but I don't really help local based businesses, I help more digital based businesses, so like local groups didn't really work for me. Or do I go to events and events? I feel like I get such a small amount, but when you're in like a group, like podcasting, you know everyone is very, you know everyone kind of knows everyone. Everyone talks to one another and we just want to help each other. So that is probably the biggest thing that stands apart with my avatar.
Speaker 2Now, what you've done and this is a perfect example with Nadora and Natalie Guzman and everything that you're doing, natalie, this is perfect. You are having a lot of success with Nadora and what you've been able to do is you've been able to transition. You went from avatar. You were like, okay, this is the avatar that I want to, and then you've at least gone after a couple of more pillars in order to define yourself, just from your explanation. For example, one of the pillars is follow the celebrity code. Follow, follow the celebrity code, that specific pillar. It has everything to do with getting a face to your brand and becoming an authority, an expert or a celebrity within a specific niche market. So you picked your avatar and then you said, hey, I'm going to insert myself, niched down, into that market and become kind of like an authority within that market.
So last year you spoke as a guest on a hundred different podcasts Congratulations, that's so amazing, that is so cool and that has positioned you as an authority within the space of podcasting. And then you have your amazing podcast, which further positions you, and then you're like, hey, yeah, I podcast, but I also have this really cool service that helps it does help people outside of podcasting, but it does help a lot of podcasters. So if I have a choice, and I'm, I'm, I'm gonna. You know I'm looking for some automation right and I'm looking to make my life easier and I can get these automation services from somebody that mainly serves lawyers or mainly serves podcasters. I'm going with the podcasting route because I'm more aligned. Everything I do has to do more with podcasting than it does have to do with being an attorney or whatever. I'm not an attorney, so it just wouldn't make sense right.
Speaker 2So it's an obvious choice. And even if the person providing the automation services for a lot of the lawyers and other service-based businesses, even if their price is cheaper, I'm not looking at the price. I didn't even talk about price, so it doesn't need to be the first bullet point when you go to sell. Hey, look, this is my price. Because, hey, that's not even the conversation we're having. We're talking about who we're serving and who. This is mainly for Another big pillar that you've gone after natalie in your case has been um, one of the things we say is lead your tribe.
Speaker 2We have a whole tribe back in your acronym. There's a whole pillar behind tribes and so you've inserted yourself inside of a community and you've start started to build your own little tribe inside of a community. And you've started to build your own little tribe inside of your community. In fact, right before we jumped on, we talked about how this year, like you've been doing more and more stories on Instagram and people find your life interesting and a lot of those people are people that are your clients and that are part of your tribe and the people that have jumped on your podcast episodes and your start. So you're starting to form this community and this tribe, and we all like being connected with communities and tribes, and so that's another one of the pillars that you're just automatically doing great at, and so you're a perfect example of standing out by following at least a few of the pillars.
Speaker 1Oh, awesome, and I didn't even know it, which is super cool. So that is awesome. And you know, one of the things that I just want to mention is like I feel so dumb posting those stories, but I did it because people I posted like one behind the scenes of my life or something, and someone loved it and I was like you know, even if I'm just doing it for that one person, let's do it, and I I do. I'm like I'm talking about what I think that this week I talked a lot about my kids, how great they're doing in sports. Well, they're not entrepreneurs, but a lot of entrepreneurs are, you know, their parents, Right, and so it was.
Speaker 1They're able to relate to me in more ways and I think that's really you probably talk about this in one of your pillars but the fact that I connect with them, not just in business but also in family life, and they understand, like trying to be at a baseball game and a cheerleading practice at the same exact time and not to have your spouse around because they have a high performing job that they they're always at. It was a rough week, let me tell you that, but people related to that because I was sharing, I related to it yeah, right yeah, that's perfect, yeah, it's so good.
Speaker 2yeah, I even messaged you. I was like oh, congratulations, yeah, I said, I said I think I said uh, oh man, I said success all around, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1Because, all by both my kids had even though I had that such a stressful week. Both my kids had really cool things happen to them that made it all worth it. Just what that story was about. It was amazing. I was so happy for them. But yeah, so I feel like you know a lot of people feel like, should I really be posting this? Or this feels like useless, just keep doing it. I feel like consistency is a huge key to anything. Whether you're doing social media or email marketing, or, you know, updating your website or whatever it is, I feel like consistency is huge.
Speaker 2Oh, yeah, consistency, and then, even if it's a snowball effect over the months and years, you're, you're starting to build that tribe. You're, you're finding those people that are connecting with you and then people, so so the thing that happens is like so people listening on the on the podcast, they're like oh, dan, you and Natalie have been having these really cool back and forth conversations on Instagram. I want to met, I want to jump in there, I want to message, I want to message Natalie. I want to jump in there, I want to message, I want to message Natalie, I want to be more inside of her. Like world, everything that's going on, cause Natalie's an amazing person, and that tribal effect, it's just huge. It's massive. It's like what Apple has been able to do and then other massive brands. Like people, they a lot.
Speaker 2There's a lot of people that are buying based off identity today rather than price.
Speaker 2And if you think about it, like we're in 2024 and we all kind of have enough stuff, and so, since we all kind of have enough stuff, a lot of times we're not just buying based off of the cheapest price, because we're buying because of a whole nother, a whole nother set of reasons.
Speaker 2So with the nine pillars. Obviously we didn't get into all of them today, but we hit on a few of them. And the whole idea is you want to stack those differences. Stack those differences in the way so that you are not compared to by price and you are compared. Well, actually you're not really compared. You're trying to get to the point where you can become that category king or category queen inside of your marketplace, to the point where that it's just you're just so cool and different and unique and you have differences in a way that your dream customers love and they want to buy from you. For all of these different reasons, and the conversation you're having with your dream customers has really very little to do with price at the end of the day. And that's how we help people overcome the whole price war situation and we help people position themselves as market leaders and help people break through the noise in big ways following some of these pillars.
Speaker 1That is amazing. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Virtually index Daniel is Ben. I've just. It's been amazing. I've learned so much already it has been I. I can't even thank you enough for just coming on here and sharing all of that. I hope it's really helps anyone that's listening. But where can we find out more about you and your services?
Speaker 2Yeah, so most people. They're getting this really cool experience that Natalie hit on in the very beginning of the episode um ideas. That influences the name of the book, um, and that just covers one of the pillars. That pillar is all about coming up with big, bold, sticky and wildly successful marketing ideas, and I created an experience around it, an experience where you get this box and you get these five envelopes that you get to open to go through the book and come up with all these cool, wildly successful ideas that break through the marketing clutter. And that's available at bigideasboxcom. That's bigideasboxcom, that's bigideasboxcom. It's actually free plus shipping, so you just play shipping and handling and I'm going to send you out the entire box for free, because that's my way of being different.
Speaker 1I love it. I'll make sure I put that in the show notes as well, but I had so much fun today. Thank you so much for coming on and we'll talk to you guys next time on the Virtual Antics Podcast.