By Alex Winter
Jan 8, 2025
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The Four Pillars of a Known & Trusted Brand: Marcus Sheridan's Blueprint for Endless Customers
By Alex Winter
Jan 8, 2025
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This transcript has been generated by AI and not checked for accuracy.
Marcus Sheridan
0:00:00
So there's four things that's gonna change your business forever. We call it in the book, the four pillars of a known and trusted brand. And here are the four. Number one.
Alex Winter
0:00:19
Welcome back to Endless Customers. I'm your host, Alex Winter. And today we're joined by a keynote speaker, a partner here at Impact, and a best-selling author, Marcus Sheridan. Welcome back to the show, my friend.
Alex Winter
0:00:29
Here we go.
Marcus Sheridan
0:00:30
Here we go.
Alex Winter
0:00:30
Let's dive into it.
Marcus Sheridan
0:00:31
Let's do it. We got the meat and potatoes today, so I'm excited about that.
Alex Winter
0:00:34
I'm excited about this, too. We're gonna get into the weeds. For everyone out there listening and watching, in a previous episode, we talked about endless customers and how it's evolved from They Ask, You Answer, the new They Ask, You Answer 3.0,
Alex Winter
0:00:45
and the book Endless Customers. So if you don't know about that, you haven't heard about it, check out that episode. But today, we are talking about the four pillars of a known and trusted brand. So let's let's get into it. Let's talk about these four pillars and why it's important for businesses.
Marcus Sheridan
0:00:58
Well, when I wrote endless customers, and you know, we said, Hey, we want to make sure that this is a system, a system, like iOS that someone can follow. So if you want something to be a system, it's gotta have structure to it, right? Not just a bunch of theory, not just a bunch of recommendations thrown out there.
Marcus Sheridan
0:01:24
A really clear system. Well, four pillars in this case of a known and trusted brand, very clear on the surface, like, okay, I get that pretty quickly and you know the book is rooted in in principles just like they ask you answer was you know and I wanted to
Marcus Sheridan
0:01:46
create something that is built to last we see change happening so fast right now there's a lot of books that are outdated in what seems like minutes so just because the speed of everything that's right yeah so true so we needed these pillars to stand the test of time. At a minimum five years, which doesn't sound like much, but I could see a revised Endless Customers in five years, but I kept saying to our entire team at Impact
Marcus Sheridan
0:02:14
as we were working on this together, I'm like, it's gotta be good for at least five years. Now, nobody can say if anything's gonna be good in five years at this point. But these pillars, because they're principle-based, I believe that is absolutely the case. So that's a preface to this conversation.
Marcus Sheridan
0:02:33
I think it's important to mention because anytime you embrace something major as a business, you do want to know is it built to last. And in those customers, the system is very much built to last. So what are the four? And then I guess we can just go into each one individually. Sounds good.
Marcus Sheridan
0:02:51
And I'll just let you hit me up with whatever.
Alex Winter
0:02:53
Well, and I like what you're saying too, just to interject, fundamentally speaking, there are certain principles that will stay no matter what, that are gonna be around forever. Building trust is one of those principles, right?
Marcus Sheridan
0:03:04
It doesn't matter what happens to tech, doesn't matter what happens to AI, doesn't matter what happens to Google.
Alex Winter
0:03:09
Or what, question mark, whatever is gonna be coming
Marcus Sheridan
0:03:11
around the corner. Or whatever that next thing is. We know platforms will come and go. We know principles will not. So that's why we build around principles. You might build it on a platform,
Marcus Sheridan
0:03:25
but you build around principles. They're your guiding light when it comes to what you should be doing with your business. Certainly with sales and marketing. Certainly with the buyer of today, the buyer of tomorrow. Okay, so what are the four pillars
Marcus Sheridan
0:03:40
of a known and trusted brand? Yeah, let's get into it. Pillar number one, you gotta be willing to say what others in your market, in your industry aren't willing to say, specifically online. So, say what others aren't willing to say.
Marcus Sheridan
0:03:55
Now, if you're familiar with they ask, you answer, that probably sounds somewhat familiar, so we're gonna get into that. Number two, you got to be willing to show through video what others in your space aren't willing to show. Pillar three, you need to be willing to sell in a way that others in your space aren't
Marcus Sheridan
0:04:14
willing to sell. Pillar four, you need to be more human because if everything is happening with tech and AI, then others in your space are willing to be so it's say show sell and Be more human than anyone in your space now before we go on and explain each one Alex
Marcus Sheridan
0:04:37
One thing that's always interesting to me is when I'm now I'm speaking to an audience. I'll say okay So before you even get started how many of you in this room can honestly say that you're talking about showing, selling, and being more human than 95% of your competitors online, and you're doing it consistently. And usually, 1% or less raise their hands.
Marcus Sheridan
0:05:03
I've seen it, yeah.
Alex Winter
0:05:04
I've seen you ask this question on stage in a room full of people, and you ask them to raise their hands, who's doing it, and there's not a lot of hands that go up.
Marcus Sheridan
0:05:11
You just don't really see it. Yeah. And so immediately, this cries for being different, which in the book we call disruption. Disruption underpins these four pillars. Okay.
Marcus Sheridan
0:05:26
Which is essential if you're gonna become known, if you're gonna be found, if you're gonna be trusted. And so now I guess, let's just dive into these pillars because I know people are thinking, alright, I want examples, and so let's play it.
Marcus Sheridan
0:05:42
Let's do it.
Alex Winter
0:05:43
Alright, so let's go into pillar one.
Marcus Sheridan
0:05:45
Yep, so say what others aren't willing to say. This is, and again, if you've read The Ask, You Answer, it's not so new, but we try, in the book, we push it out even further. We still have the big five. The big five has been as relevant, you know, it's relevant today as
Marcus Sheridan
0:06:05
it was 10 years ago in terms of what people want to know. What do they want to know? They want to know how much is it cost, they want to know what are the problems, the negatives, the issues with it, objections, fears, all those things, like any negative phrase that they could think about that product or that service. We want to know this before we buy. Our fears take over us when we're looking at spending a lot of money. And so the great companies, they lean into those fears, those objections,
Marcus Sheridan
0:06:33
and they don't allow them to come up without having addressed them already. They get in front of them. So we've got cost or pricing questions. We've got problems slash fears, objections. Then we've got comparisons. People love to compare online.
Marcus Sheridan
0:06:49
That's never going away. You love to compare, you want to know the difference between this brand, that brand, this product, that product, that method, this method. I mean, we love to compare. Number four, reviews, we're obsessed with reviews. The thing about reviews though is we want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Marcus Sheridan
0:07:04
We don't just want the good. And then finally, five, best. Best, most, top, there's lots of, any time there's an extreme of anything. What's the best insert whatever there? Yeah, and if you think about how many times you've gone online and research best plus another phrase Totally or top plus another phrase, but it's not just that phrase. It's any anything that denotes an extreme. So in terms of like Let's say a dishwasher you might research the
Marcus Sheridan
0:07:29
quietest Dish dishwasher, that's an example of an extreme. It's not the best right, but it's a different type of search. It falls under that best umbrella, though. So cost, problems, comparisons, reviews, best, those are the big five. Those are the big five.
Marcus Sheridan
0:07:46
They continue to dominate. They're gonna dominate for a long time. Now, the issue that some people have is that AI is now affecting how much you can be found in terms of search. What was so great about the big five,
Marcus Sheridan
0:08:01
other than the fact that, you know, customers want to know these things, when they come to your website, they're fed, they're satiated and your trust just really just increases so much, is that, well, it was essential for increasing the traffic on your website. Now, it can still do that, but we don't want to build our house on Google alone. And so that's why we need to go beyond, because so much of the focus of the Ask You Answer
Marcus Sheridan
0:08:33
was just on the big five. So now we've got to say, okay, the big five are still there, they still matter, we're still going to pay attention, we're still going to produce text-based content, yes, but we've got to go beyond that.
Marcus Sheridan
0:08:47
And when we're doing that, and we're using AI, we've got to be careful, right, because you want to make sure that it is your stories, your experiences, your voice, and not some voice of a million other voices online that were crammed together and created by AI. One other thing about what we see now when it comes to AI and content production. And I've said this from the beginning, and it's happened,
Marcus Sheridan
0:09:19
and that is, just because a company has a tool that could produce all this content doesn't mean they will. And that's because it requires guts, it requires courage, it requires audacity to do, to talk about, to say what others in your space aren't willing to say. And so you being the one that teaches the industry
Marcus Sheridan
0:09:42
all about pricing and value and what drives cost up and down and you being the one that addresses all the objections that they might feel, right, and that everybody has been saying and been thinking, but you're not afraid of that elephant, you go after the elephant.
Marcus Sheridan
0:09:59
This is the stuff that, just because you got the tool doesn't mean you're using it. And so we gotta keep that in mind. It still makes you an outlier to talk about these things. But one of the issues I would say with They Ask, You Answer was that some people perceive the Big Five to be just text.
Marcus Sheridan
0:10:15
But the Big Five is very much text, video, like YouTube, very much social media. It should be guiding your social strategy as well, I mean, across the board. So when we talk about say, say what others aren't willing to say,
Marcus Sheridan
0:10:32
still very, very much rooted in the big five.
Alex Winter
0:10:35
Yeah, and the big five is critical, and it comes back to authenticity for me. It's like you need to be authentic in order to differentiate and disrupt.
Marcus Sheridan
0:10:43
It's authenticity, it's radical transparency, it's all the things that, you know, if you talk to any company, they say we're rooted in authenticity. I'm like, okay, yeah, but do you talk about these things on your website? You know, the most common questions you get from buyers all the time?
Marcus Sheridan
0:11:00
They're like, well, you don't understand. No, no, no, I do understand. What I understand is you're trying to control the buying process and that's not what the buyer wants. Right. And so don't sit here and claim to be incredibly authentic and transparent and honest and yet you're not even willing to just
Marcus Sheridan
0:11:18
generally discuss pricing in your industry. I'm not saying that you got to give exact price again we've never said that before but you got to be willing to talk about and teach them what defines value and give them a sense for things and help them know am I in the game or not. Like these are things that we should be doing and many companies today still are not. To me that's inexcusable. That should, it just shouldn't happen, Alex,
Marcus Sheridan
0:11:41
but it's still happening. So that's the first pillar.
Alex Winter
0:11:45
One is it's a major drive. It's a red flag for consumers. Like if I see that, I'm not gonna make a purchasing decision with that company. I'm gonna go to a company or a different website or a different place that is gonna give me
Alex Winter
0:11:55
the answers that I need, the transparency that I want. That's just how it is and I think that's how a lot of consumers buy and operate when they're looking for things. So that's just a fact.
Marcus Sheridan
0:12:05
That's a fact. It is what it is. You can use the facts to your advantage and the trends to your advantage or you can deny their existence. I just have found it doesn't really help to deny reality and so if you lean into it, it can become an advantage.
Marcus Sheridan
0:12:19
Even if it feels like a disadvantage, it can become an advantage.
Alex Winter
0:12:21
Nice. So let's get into the second pillar. Yeah.
Marcus Sheridan
0:12:24
Yeah, this is great. I'm loving this. So show what others aren't willing to show.
Alex Winter
0:12:27
Okay.
Marcus Sheridan
0:12:27
If you think about it, okay, we have got to stop thinking we have a secret sauce when we don't. You need to say, I have to show the thing, whatever the thing is. Now, we talk specifically in the book about what's called the Selling 7 and these are seven types of videos that drive the best results in terms of sales team and humanizes your brand and helps you so very much. And you know, there's a couple that we can talk about.
Marcus Sheridan
0:13:04
One of them is cost videos, okay, very powerful. But the thing about a cost video, a cost video, a lot of times people think videos should be short because there are times when they merit longer explanations. If you've got a product or service that is complex when it comes to pricing, which is most business by the way, it doesn't make you unique, that makes you normal. If you're going to create a video on that that's explaining what drives cost up, what drives cost down,
Marcus Sheridan
0:13:33
why some companies are expensive, why some companies are cheap, roughly where do you fall? Those five fundamental things there. Well, I mean, that is going to take you five, ten minutes at least. And what I did this time with Endless Customers, this book, is I talked even further beyond those five things. Like, what else could you talk about when it comes to cost and price?
Marcus Sheridan
0:13:55
For example, can you talk about financing and payments and how people can manage that. Can you talk about long-term cost versus short-term investment, like in the difference between the two? So there's all these components that make up the perfect cost piece of content, right? Whether it's article, whether it's a video, etc. So that is one major video that every company should have, should be on your socials, should
Marcus Sheridan
0:14:24
be on YouTube, and it should go into the detail that the book talks about. And I'm really proud of that section of the book because it is a step up from what I taught people discussing cost was before and it really gives that further detail that today's buyer, hungry, hungry buyer wants. So that's just one example of showing what others aren't willing to show.
Alex Winter
0:14:48
I love the examples that you put in the book though because We hear it time and time again when we say cost and price and you have to discuss cost and price People like cringe people don't want to talk about it They want it and they say we're different and they give all the excuses and the reasons and this and that and the truth is No matter what your excuse is your customers want it. They need it. So that's right It doesn't matter what your opinion is. You have to give the people what they want. That's what it comes down to. Yeah, you know another
Marcus Sheridan
0:15:12
Example, I'm pretty sure it's in the book, is when we started manufacturing fiberglass pools with my swimming pool company, we were the first manufacturer that showed the entire manufacturing process. In fact, we created a series of,
Marcus Sheridan
0:15:27
I think it was eight videos, average length was about 10 minutes long, so it's like 80 minutes, 80 minutes of video just showing you how we made our pools, which somebody listening to this might say, that is just way too much. Nobody's got the patience for that today or the attention span for that today.
Marcus Sheridan
0:15:46
It's total BS because if you're getting ready to spend $100,000, $200,000, whatever, on a swimming pool, you better believe that you're willing to watch 80 minutes worth of video. And what we saw as a result of those videos is that we kept having people reach out and say, you know, you were the only manufacturer that was willing to show us how you made the thing. And so that created such demand in the marketplace.
Marcus Sheridan
0:16:14
It was very different. There was a huge disruption to the industry. Other manufacturers were complaining to me, like, I can't believe you're showing this, and I'm thinking, you know, you're dumb for not showing it. It was obvious to me.
Marcus Sheridan
0:16:25
But still, do you think most manufacturers in the fiberglass pool space have shown specifically how they manufacture their pool? Most haven't, because they still believe it's secret sauce. Ridiculous. We know it's Thousand Island dressing, right? So it's like you move past that and you say, it is what it is.
Marcus Sheridan
0:16:43
I'm going to show it to you. And so the secret becomes the fact that you're showing it. That makes you so unique. That makes you, as Seth Godin said back in the day, a purple cow in the field that immediately gets noticed because it's so very, very different.
Marcus Sheridan
0:16:57
So that is show, and there's so many other examples, of course, in the book, but you have to think like a media company. And a media company has a mindset, and we talk about this in the book, of every single thing you do in business
Marcus Sheridan
0:17:13
potentially is a story that you could show. The big mindset shift is not just passing it by, but it's actually showing it. Perfect case in point, today we were creating videos. I know every single day I'm going to share something online, especially, for me it's LinkedIn.
Marcus Sheridan
0:17:32
By the way, if you're not connected with me on LinkedIn, you should be, and so just let me know. Go to LinkedIn, say, hey, Marcus, I wasn't connected to you before, I've repented of my sins, and now let's connect. Because I understand that I'm essentially a media company
Marcus Sheridan
0:17:54
that speaks to organizations, teaches organizations around the world how to connect deeper, win trust, and create endless customers. That's what I do. Now, if I'm a media company, I'm always looking left and right,
Marcus Sheridan
0:18:16
up and down, for the next opportunity. So today, when we were shooting video, of course I'm like, hey, can you record what we're doing, show what they see on camera, but show what the scene looks like, because this is what the market is interested in.
Marcus Sheridan
0:18:36
Yeah, like the behind the scenes. The behind the scenes, the story. Problem is, a lot of people, Alex, would do a shoot, they would get the shoot done and say, oh, that was great, we did our videos, but you missed a great story.
Marcus Sheridan
0:18:52
So a media company sees the story in everything. People ask me all the time, how do you come up with great content on LinkedIn all the time? Because I'm a media company, I'm always looking, I'm a reporter, man.
Marcus Sheridan
0:19:07
I'm looking for my next story. That's how you gotta think.
Alex Winter
0:19:10
That's a great analogy, I love that.
Marcus Sheridan
0:19:12
So, pillar number two, show what others aren't willing to show.
Alex Winter
0:19:16
Pillar number three.
Marcus Sheridan
0:19:17
Pillar number three, I'm very excited about because I feel like I do a better deep dive in this book on this subject, which is sell in a way that others aren't willing to sell. Now, the primary element that makes this so different is the evolution of self-service.
Marcus Sheridan
0:19:35
And I talked about self-service in They Ask, We Answer, second edition, but it has really taken a step up since then. And specifically, we talk about five different forms of self-service on your website.
Marcus Sheridan
0:19:47
So we've got self-pricing tools, like estimators, calculators. We've got self-assessment tools, which give you a score. We've got self-selection tools, which allow you to make a choice. We've got self-configuration tools which allow you to build the thing that you're looking to buy.
Marcus Sheridan
0:20:07
And then you've got self-scheduling tools which allows you to schedule time with a salesperson. In the book, we talk about the power of these tools. 75% of all buyers today say they would prefer to have a seller-free sales experience.
Alex Winter
0:20:23
A touchless experience.
Marcus Sheridan
0:20:24
That number is growing. So if this number keeps on growing, what does it mean in terms of sales and marketing? It means we have a mega trend, we better lean into it, not resist it, not fight it, not say oh gee, but if we do these tools online and on our website, then that will affect our sales process and our sales team doesn't want us to do that. Well, the only reason they say,
Marcus Sheridan
0:20:51
I don't want you to do that, is because they're ignorant of the benefits. If they understood the benefits, they'd be like, please, please. Sign me up. I mean, we've had now at Impact,
Marcus Sheridan
0:20:59
a bunch of companies that we've built some of these pricing calculators, pricing estimators for, and it has blown up the number of leads they've gotten, and the sales team is like, this is the greatest. We love this.
Marcus Sheridan
0:21:12
But you know, if you had just said before that, hey, we're gonna put a pricing estimator on the website They'd be like well Don't do that because that's gonna mess us up you see the only reason why they're saying that is out of ignorance And so you know this is why we have to go into organizations and teach them the what the how and the why and then like Okay, sure we should do that right so self-service
Marcus Sheridan
0:21:32
mega mega trend taking over industries I'm very excited about it. I am all in on it. And of course, I even created a tool that allows people to build pricing estimators literally in minutes called PriceGuide.ai, which is taking off, right? And so we talk about that in the book, but this is a mega trend for selling in a way
Marcus Sheridan
0:21:54
that others aren't willing to sell. We've got some other components in that section of the book as well in terms of if you look at they ask you answer, we talked about assignment selling. So now we've got assignment selling on steroids. Before assignment selling was pretty generic. It was essentially how to give an assignment one time. Now what we do is we help write out their entire sales process, and how to integrate effective content
Marcus Sheridan
0:22:31
for your assignment selling in each one of those stages. So we show it much better, we explain it much better, and it will help you see, okay, so although you might have been quote doing assignment selling before and integrating content into the sales process so as to eliminate some of those redundant questions. Now the mindset is before every single stage of the sales process, what content could I send them
Marcus Sheridan
0:22:57
that could help make this more efficient, more effective, you know, more speedy, you know, more comfortable, more trust, all those things.
Marcus Sheridan
0:23:05
Right, all the things.
Alex Winter
0:23:06
All the things.
Marcus Sheridan
0:23:07
So we talk about that, and I do touch a little bit on just some of the issues with sales training too and how, you know, it's just a lost art. We just don't have enough sales training today. Companies have to get over themselves. They've got to do a lot more sales training.
Marcus Sheridan
0:23:20
It's a big problem. It is.
Alex Winter
0:23:21
And we've talked about this a lot on the show and off the show as well, where people think that they're the cat's meow. They have it dialed in and they don't need any extra help. And it's it couldn't be farther from the truth.
Marcus Sheridan
0:23:31
Yeah, they're they're a broken pencil without lead. And they have no idea, you know, like they're literally thinking they're creating like masterpieces, when in reality the canvas is blank. We see that a lot, and it's a big problem. So that's the third pillar, sell in a way
Marcus Sheridan
0:23:47
others aren't willing to sell. And man, that is really, when you talk about lead generation, self-service, it addresses, one of the big promises, this book's gonna help you address that big problem of I'm not getting enough leads,
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:05
enough qualified leads. Sales cycles are too long. My goodness, it's going to help address that problem.
Alex Winter
0:24:12
And shorten those sales cycles. Big time. Oh yeah. And the coolest part is it's a win-win for both sides. It's a win-win for your customers, but it's also a win for your sales team too. It benefits everybody.
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:20
Everybody wins. It's great. We love that. It's a beautiful thing. So that's number three pillar. Number four pillar.
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:26
Pillar number four? Is be more human than others in your space are willing to be. Now, this one, it's a bit of a culmination of the other three because if you're showing what others aren't willing to show and you're doing it with your people,
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:40
that's a major part of it. But, you know, look at it like this. If you're doing one-to-one video in your sales approach, which still today, most sales teams are sending text-based email, like as a standard. Still?
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:53
Most, like 90-ish percent, Alex.
Alex Winter
0:24:55
Do they still send mail in the video box?
Marcus Sheridan
0:24:58
Yeah, right, right. That's what it feels like at this point. Oh, man. And it's so contrary to common sense. Yeah. Because we say, I wanna make human connections,
Marcus Sheridan
0:25:07
but we only send letters, we don't send images, and we don't send videos. It's nonsensical, right? We say, people misunderstood the email. Okay, well, that's what text does. Maybe you should send a video.
Marcus Sheridan
0:25:19
Video is faster if it's a longish email. You can send a video way faster if you're really answering a question that requires some explanation.
Alex Winter
0:25:28
And you catch the tone. That's the best part about video is what can be misconstrued in a text or in a piece of copy. You might misread it or misinterpret it, but if you can hear somebody say it, you get it immediately.
Marcus Sheridan
0:25:38
So that's one piece of the more human. The other side of this is, it's not just your sales team. You as a CEO have to step up. You need to say, my personal brand matters. Which is bigger in terms of brand? Elon or Tesla?
Alex Winter
0:25:55
Elon.
Marcus Sheridan
0:25:56
Without a doubt. Way bigger. Without a doubt, way bigger, without a doubt. And so you see this across the board where we want to do business with Colonel Sanders. And so if you don't have a Colonel Sanders, what are you?
Marcus Sheridan
0:26:15
You're a roof, otherwise known as Pizza Hut, right? That's not good. And so you need a face with your organization and CEOs, leaders, need to develop their brands. Especially if you're gonna say, we're a media company and I want my team to be embracing video.
Marcus Sheridan
0:26:36
If you're not eating that, come on. You gotta eat your own dog food. So that's gonna be a big part of this going forward. Leaders need to build their brands and humanize the company brand in the process. So we talk about that, we didn't talk about that in They Ask, You Answer, we lean into
Marcus Sheridan
0:26:57
that quite a bit more. So those are the four pillars of a known and trusted brand. And what's great is there's a lot of examples in the book, right? And so we really explain it out to you. And the other thing too is we've got a companion guide that's not in the book, but it's online,
Marcus Sheridan
0:27:16
that it shows you a ton more examples of each one of these things. And so, you know, if you read the book and then you follow the companion guide, you'll be like, man, I have, man, I see this. It's not like I'm just like, when do I start?
Marcus Sheridan
0:27:29
How do I do this? You're gonna see it. You're gonna see a ton of examples. You're gonna be able to start it today. That's why it's a system. That's why it's like EOS except it's for sales and marketing if you're doing EOS
Marcus Sheridan
0:27:41
This is the book for you. You're gonna love it. You're gonna love it because it really design the same way They go hand in hand
Alex Winter
0:27:46
I love how how well they integrate with each other because EOS is really like getting your company your goals your structure Yeah, that's set correctly so that you have everything in place there And then this is the next step of like cool now that you got that built It's time to lean into your sales and your marketing, do it the right way and work a system that's, time and time again, the proof is in the pudding. We have the stories, you have to go check it out people because when business owners
Alex Winter
0:28:10
and businesses work this system, the results are exponential. Some of them I almost can't even believe the results. It's shocking.
Marcus Sheridan
0:28:17
It really is.
Marcus Sheridan
0:28:18
It's crazy. And what I'm excited about within those customers is the way we set up the journey, you can get immediate results, especially because of this self-service phenomena. So if you're hurting right now, this system will help you immediately and it's going to help you long-term. You want to go into it with a long-term mentality, but it can help you immediately to resolve
Marcus Sheridan
0:28:41
some of the issues that your business is having with lead flow. That to me is very, very exciting.
Alex Winter
0:28:44
Excellent.
Alex Winter
0:28:45
I'm excited too. And so for people out there listening, where can they get this book? How do they get the system? How do they get their hands on it? What's the next step for them to take?
Marcus Sheridan
0:28:53
Just go to endlesscustomers.com and if you pre-order the book, you get some bonuses which is pretty cool. So, you want to take advantage of that. So again, it's endlesscustomers.com.
Alex Winter
0:29:02
Marcus, thank you so much for being on the show and sharing these insights.
Marcus Sheridan
0:29:05
My pleasure.
Alex Winter
0:29:06
Exciting times. Exciting times, my friend. All right. For everybody out there watching and listening, this is Endless Customers. For everybody out there watching and listening, this is Endless Customers.
Alex Winter
0:29:10
episode.
About this Episode:
In a world where platforms and marketing tactics change at lightning speed, one desired skill remains constant—your ability to stand out. Whether you’re running a SaaS company or managing a local landscaping business, the principles that drive trust and visibility are universal.
On this episode of Endless Customers, Marcus Sheridan, partner at IMPACT and renowned author of They Ask, You Answer, joined us to share a framework from his new book “Endless Customers” called: The Four Pillars of a Known and Trusted Brand. These pillars are designed to help businesses navigate today’s challenging landscape by focusing on what truly matters—standing out, building trust, and driving sustainable growth.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by changing algorithms, the proliferation of AI, or just the sheer volume of competition, this framework offers clarity and direction.
Why Standing Out Is Harder Than Ever
Business owners today face an uphill battle. Gone are the days when throwing money at advertising guaranteed results. Marcus emphasized that today’s buyer is more discerning, skeptical, and self-reliant than ever before.
“Trust deficits are real,” Marcus explained. “People are slower to convert, slower to fill out forms, and they’re doing more research before they even reach out.”
This trust deficit, combined with the overwhelming noise in the marketplace, makes it harder to rise above the competition. Marcus argued that businesses often misinterpret their challenges as tactical problems—like not ranking high enough on Google—when in reality, the issue lies in how they’re connecting (or failing to connect) with their audience.
That’s where the Four Pillars come in. These aren’t just strategies—they’re the foundation for becoming the most known and trusted brand in your market, no matter what industry you’re in.
Pillar 1: Say What Others in Your Space Aren’t Willing to Say
Honesty isn’t just the best policy—it’s also one of the fastest ways to build trust. Yet, so many businesses shy away from addressing topics that might make them uncomfortable. Marcus explained that this hesitation often stems from fear: fear of scaring off potential customers, fear of upsetting competitors, or fear of revealing too much.
But here’s the truth: buyers are already asking these questions. And if you’re not answering them, someone else will—or worse, they’ll assume the answer isn’t in their favor.
“You’ve got to be willing to address the questions, fears, and concerns that others in your space won’t touch,” Marcus said. “That’s how you build trust.”
For example, let’s say you’re in an industry where pricing is notoriously opaque. Your competitors might avoid discussing costs because they think it gives them leverage. But by being upfront—even if it’s just sharing a range—you immediately position yourself as transparent and trustworthy. Buyers appreciate that.
Marcus shared a story about a pool company he worked with. The company was initially reluctant to discuss pricing on their website, fearing it would drive customers away. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Transparency turned them into a trusted resource and significantly increased their leads.
This pillar is about more than just pricing, though. Think about the tough questions your customers are asking: “What are the downsides of your product?” “Why should I choose you over a competitor?” By answering these head-on, you’re not just meeting their expectations—you’re exceeding them.
Pillar 2: Show What Others in Your Space Aren’t Willing to Show
Video is no longer optional. It’s essential. And yet, many businesses treat it like a nice-to-have rather than a must-do. Marcus believes this is a critical mistake.
“Video gives people a sense of who you are before they ever meet you,” Marcus explained. “It’s not just about selling; it’s about building a relationship.”
This pillar isn’t about creating flashy, high-budget videos. It’s about authenticity. Buyers want to see the real you: your team, your process, and your product in action. It’s the ultimate way to humanize your brand.
Imagine a buyer visiting two websites. One has a page full of text explaining their services. The other features a short video tour of the company, complete with introductions to the team and a behind-the-scenes look at how the product is made. Which one do you think they’ll trust more?
Marcus highlighted the importance of video in answering common customer questions. “If a customer asks it, you should have a video for it,” he said. “That’s how you make them feel seen and heard.”
Pillar 3: Sell in a Way Others in Your Space Aren’t Willing to Sell
When was the last time you really evaluated your sales process? Many businesses like to think they have a unique approach, but the truth is, most sales processes look the same.
“Too often, businesses are following the same playbook as everyone else,” Marcus said. “True differentiation comes from rethinking how you sell.”
One way to do this is by embracing self-service tools. For example, a pricing calculator on your website can empower buyers to explore their options without feeling pressured by a salesperson. It’s a small change, but it can make a huge difference in how buyers perceive your company.
Marcus also stressed the importance of simplifying the buyer’s journey. “Buyers today don’t want to jump through hoops,” he said. “If your sales process feels like a hurdle race, you’re losing them before they even start.”
Rethinking your sales process might feel risky, especially if it means stepping away from traditional methods. But Marcus reminded us that the greatest rewards often come from taking bold steps.
Pillar 4: Be More Human Than Others in Your Space are Willing to Be
In an era dominated by AI and automation, it’s easy to lose sight of what makes your business truly unique: your people. Marcus argued that technology should enhance the human experience, not replace it.
“Your ability to show empathy, authenticity, and care will always be your greatest asset,” he said. “That’s what buyers remember.”
This pillar is about going beyond the transaction. It’s about making customers feel valued and understood. Whether it’s a handwritten thank-you note or a personal follow-up call, these small gestures can have a massive impact.
Marcus shared an example from his own experience. After delivering a keynote speech, he sent personalized video messages to attendees thanking them for their engagement. The response was overwhelming. Many attendees said it was the highlight of their event experience.
Being human doesn’t mean rejecting technology—it means using it to amplify your humanity. For example, AI can help you personalize email campaigns or analyze customer data. But the tone and approach should always reflect genuine care and understanding.
Why Principles Outlast Platforms
One of the most compelling parts of the discussion was Marcus’s emphasis on principles over tactics. While tools and platforms will continue to evolve, the principles behind buyer behavior remain consistent.
“People will always want to do business with companies they trust,” Marcus said. “The way we deliver that trust may change, but the need for it never will.”
This is why Marcus believes the Four Pillars are universal. Whether you’re a B2B enterprise or a local business, these strategies can help you navigate change while staying true to what matters most.
Stand Out by Being Brave
The Four Pillars aren’t easy to implement. They require courage, introspection, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. But as Marcus reminded us, the discomfort of change is far less painful than the discomfort of staying stagnant.
“Rule breakers become the rule makers,” Marcus said. “If you want to stand out, you’ve got to be willing to break the rules that no longer serve your industry.”
For businesses ready to rise above the noise, the Four Pillars offer a roadmap to not just survive but thrive in an ever-changing market.
Connect with Marcus
Marcus Sheridan is a writer, speaker, and business expert who’s worked with companies all over the world. Marcus is the author of They Ask, You Answer and Endless Customers.
Connect with Marcus on LinkedIn
Learn more about Endless Customers and pre-order the book!
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Endless Customers is a podcast produced and distributed by IMPACT, a sales and marketing training organization.
We coach businesses to implement our They Ask, You Answer framework to build trust and fill their pipeline.
For inquiries about sponsorship opportunities or to be considered as a guest, email awinter@impactplus.com.
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