Jason Pfeiffer (3:00)
By using the code Help Wanted, you can find a link and everything in the show notes. So go check that out. But today on Help Wanted, I am going to give you my 5% character concept for free right here in this episode. But first, let me tell you how it all started. On a night out with Gary Vaynerchuk. Who's Gary? You probably know Gary Vaynerchuk. He's been on the show before, actually. He is an entrepreneurial celebrity known for his brash, rapid fire advice. He has a camera crew following him constantly, turning his conversations into content. Many years ago, Gary invited me out to a wine bar and when I arrived, his cameras, as usual, were rolling. And Gary was the big loud guy that I had always seen online. But then his camera guy left and Gary transformed. He became soft spoken and thoughtful and we talked about a wide range of stuff. And that is when it hit me on social media. Gary is playing a character. If Gary was an actor, this would be obvious. But Gary is showing up online as himself, as Gary. And we are all told to be authentic. So this is kind of confusing. But then I realized the nuance. Gary is playing a character named Gary. And the character speaks in a distinctive way and the character thinks in a consistent way. The character is a part of Gary, but not all of Gary. Soon I gave this character a name. I called it the 5% character. Here's the thing. You are 100% person. You wake up with many thoughts and feelings and desires and interests and anxieties. You have good days and you have bad days. You have opinions on everything. So do I. But that does not mean that it all belongs on LinkedIn or in whatever professional setting you are communicating in. Instead, you only 5% of you belongs there. Before you put yourself on display, you have to ask yourself Two questions. Number one, who do I want to reach? Maybe it's future employers, maybe it's sales clients, maybe it's customers for your product. And then question number two, what 5% of me is most relevant to them? Of everything you know, what is the most useful to those people? Where are you super confident that that is the start of your 5% character? You are narrowing in on the small part of you that is most relevant to whatever professional audience you want to reach again on LinkedIn, but could be anywhere. Could be when you're showing up on podcasts, it could be when you're on video, it could be when you're on stage, it could just be in a meeting, whatever. This is your 5% character. And once you think of it this way, look how fast this becomes useful. Let's just use some examples. Maybe you're a realtor. So your 5% character is absolutely obsessed with the housing market. Why? Because that helps home buyers and sellers trust you. Maybe you're a writer. So your 5% character loves teaching storytelling because that showcases your knowledge and it makes you more trustworthy as a hire. Or maybe you're in SaaS sales. So your 5% character is obsessed with how to work efficiently because that's what your target customer wants to do. Now let's go a step deeper. Once you know your 5% character's focus again, the 5% of you that is confident, knowledgeable, most relevant to the audience you want to reach, you can start to craft this character. Start asking yourself things like how do they write or act or think? What tone do they use and why? To do this, I want to challenge you to pick three words that define your character. For example, a realtor might say something like this. The three words are experienced, analytical and calm. And next, think about how to turn those three words into action. So let's just keep going with the realtor example. How could they take action on those words here? Experienced, analytical, calm. Alright, well, let's see. Experienced, this means that they regularly share lessons and examples from recent transactions showing that they really understand the real estate market. Analytical, this means that their posts are full of data and projections. Because for buyers and sellers, it is all about the numbers and calm. Calm means that they're never hyperbolic about swings in the market because buyers and sellers want a steady hand. Who has seen it all? See what we've done here? The idea of the 5% character was really just to narrow you down to what's most relevant to an audience. And then you pick these three words which then Help guide how you live and breathe and be that character. This may sound inauthentic, but frankly it should be liberating. If you are uncomfortable selling yourself, now you're just selling a character that looks like you. Plus, if someone criticizes your content, they're not criticizing you, they're responding to your character. If a post doesn't perform well, it's not a personal rejection. It's just data to help inform the character. The detachment allows you to be strategic and intentional without feeling vulnerable or exposed. Now here is an admission. I do this too. I am playing a 5% character right now. I play it in every episode of this podcast. This podcast, Help Wanted is consistent because I and Nicole, we play speak in our characters voices, which is a part of us, but not all of us. But when we present as the 5% character, we are always consistent. You know exactly what you're going to get, who we are and what we have to say, the tone in which we're going to say it. It's all intentional. And I decided on my words. My words are approachable, optimistic and supportive. As a result, here's how I action these items. Approachable. I reply to everyone who DMs or emails me. That's approachable. Also, when I'm on this podcast, as you will hear, often I'm vulnerable. I share mistakes that I make. That also really fits into being approachable. Something that I really want to emphasize. My second word was optimistic. Optimistic. I never complain or criticize or if I do, I'm doing it to move towards an optimistic view of how things should be or how we can thrive. And then supportive. That's my third word. I turn everything into a lesson. This scales in infinite ways, right? It's not just the podcast. It's how I Show up on LinkedIn. It's how I write my newsletter. But I also played this character in keynotes, on stage, in meetings, in sales pitches. Once I defined my 5% character, I could instantly embody it whenever I need. When I step onto a stage, I know exactly, exactly how to talk and act. When I sit down to write a LinkedIn post, I think, what would Jason have to say about this? When Nicole and I are recording Help Wanted, I am always thinking about it through the lens of the character that listeners know and expect to be consistent. This isn't inauthentic. This is intentional. When you are relevant, consistent and valuable, you become someone that people recognize and trust. You wouldn't sell a watered down product, you know, so don't sell a watered down version of yourself, be the character that everyone knows and wants. And again, that is one small part of my larger course called LinkedIn mastery, which helps you advance your career by becoming a top respected voice in your industry. And you can get it. Just, just look at the show notes wherever you are listening to Help Wanted and you'll see a link and a promo code to get 40% off. And if you take it and then you post on LinkedIn, tag me, I will see it. I will respond because, you know, approachable. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason.
