The Russell Brunson Show

Episode: Stop Selling Through Significance
Host: Russell Brunson
Date: September 4, 2019

Overview

In this episode, Russell Brunson urges entrepreneurs and marketers to stop selling by touting their own significance and instead focus on celebrating the success stories of their students and clients. Drawing from personal experience and industry observations, he explains the limitations of ego-driven marketing and shares why shifting the narrative to customer-driven success is the key to lasting growth, connection, and impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Russell’s Work-in-Progress and Reflection

Russell is editing the Traffic Secrets book and working on its promotional content.
In a reflective mood, he discusses the natural need for creative breaks during intense projects ([02:00]).

The Trap of Selling Through Significance

Russell describes seeing an old friend’s ads and recognizing a familiar mistake: selling through personal significance.
- Definition: Focusing on personal achievements, status, and ego as the primary selling point (e.g., “Look what I did, look how great I am”).
He acknowledges that using personal stories is common, especially when starting out, but emphasizes this approach only works up to a point.
Quote:
“Selling with significance...works, but it only works to a certain level. If you want to get to the next level, the big secret is you can't keep selling through significance.”
(Russell Brunson, [06:00])

The Shift to Success-Driven Stories

Russell explains that true, scalable influence happens when you center your messaging on students’ or clients’ transformations rather than your own accolades.
He describes his own evolution, moving from self-focused stories to sharing client outcomes.
Managing Team Messaging:
- As his company grows, he watches for self-focused messaging from his team:
- Quote:
  “Look, this isn’t about me anymore. This movement’s about our people. This is about the people we’re serving. This is about their success.”
  (Russell Brunson, [08:00])

Real-World Example: Stu McLaren’s Approach

Russell recounts a podcast interview with Stu McLaren, who prioritized telling student stories instead of his own.
- Stu prepared lists of student names to highlight their wins in every answer.
- Quote:
  “Every time I asked [Stu] a question, he never, ever said, ‘Yeah, well, my first membership site, blah, blah, blah.’ ...Every single time...he would respond...with an answer from one of his success stories.”
  (Russell Brunson relaying a podcast host’s observation, [11:00])
He contrasts this with “Guru A,” who only shares personal wins, making the audience feel disconnected or even “dirty.”

Why Shifting the Narrative Matters

Resonance:
- Customers, especially "dream clients," respond to stories that reflect their aspirations—not just the guru’s achievements.
- Quote:
  “The dream clients, the people you want to serve, will not respond to that...They respond to the success stories of your students.”
  (Russell Brunson, [14:00])
Compliance and Longevity:
- Highlighting others’ outcomes is often more compliant with advertising standards and builds a community-based brand.
- Movements grounded in community accomplishments are more sustainable.
Ownership:
- Russell admits he used to publicize his revenue milestones (e.g., a million dollars a year), but as his business scaled, he realized those numbers "didn't matter anymore."
- What drives connection and energy is sharing how others succeeded through his methods.

Tactical Takeaways

Audit Your Messaging:
- Russell urges listeners to review their marketing for signs of self-centered selling.
- Quote:
  “Look at your marketing, your advertising, your storytelling, your videos, your everything through that lens.”
  (Russell Brunson, [18:00])
Action Step:
- Start compiling student/client success stories.
- Shift the spotlight away from your resume to the impact you’ve created.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Selling through significance...will work and get to a certain point, but if you really want to expand and really, really have a massive impact...it’s selling through the stories of your success stories.”
(Russell Brunson, [07:00])
“When the movement is you bragging about how good you are, the movement will never grow. When the movement is you sharing the success stories of your students, that’s what makes people want to be part of your movement.”
(Russell Brunson, [16:30])
“People come to Funnel Hacking Live not because they want to see Russell get his 3 Comma Club award—they couldn't care less about me. They want to see their peers get their 2 Comma Club award and they want to visualize themselves getting it next year. That's the secret. That's the magic.”
(Russell Brunson, [17:20])

Important Timestamps

[02:00] – Russell sets the scene working on book edits and creative process
[05:20] – Identifies a friend’s reliance on selling through personal significance
[06:50] – Explains why self-focused marketing only works to a certain point
[08:00] – Importance of shifting focus from self to customer/student wins
[11:00] – Stu McLaren’s approach of making student stories central
[14:00] – Why dream clients care about peer success, not just your results
[17:20] – Funnel Hacking Live attendees are motivated by seeing others' wins
[18:00] – Russell challenges listeners to examine and shift their messaging

Episode Tone & Final Call-to-Action

Russell’s tone is energetic, passionate, and encouraging. There’s a mix of self-awareness, industry insight, and actionable motivation. He closes by inviting listeners to tag him on social media with their favorite takeaways and to “have success with it, report back so I can brag about you, put you on stage, share your story with the world because your story needs to be heard.” ([19:00])

Summary

Russell Brunson’s main message: To scale impact and build a lasting movement, marketers and entrepreneurs must stop selling themselves and start amplifying the success stories of the people they help. Shifting the narrative from “Look how great I am” to “Look what my students have achieved” is the secret to genuine influence, community, and growth.

Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (0:28)

Experian what's up, everybody? This is Russell Brunson. Welcome back to the Marketing Secrets podcast. Today I'm in the penthouse overlooking Boise getting prepared to finish the entire Traffic Secrets book. So the big question is this. How are entrepreneurs like us who didn't cheat and take on venture capital were spending money from our own pockets? How do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we believe in out to the world and yet still remains profitable? That is the question in this podcast will give you the answer. My name is Russell Brunson, and welcome to Marketing Secrets. All right, my friends, so yesterday, as you know, I was driving down here to the penthouse. If you listened to yesterday's podcast episode, I got here and been working on editing the book. We got the first the manuscript finished, and now we're going back through the top and editing and having some fun. We also spent like seven or eight hours getting a shot set up to be the COVID of the Traffic Secrets book here in the penthouse. Oh, it's gonna look so cool. Basically, we pull all the couches out of the front room, we set up this desk with these monitors, and we have a crane in here and lights and everything. And tonight, between 8, 28, 40 is when the light's perfect, you can see everything set up. So we have photographers, video guides, everything coming in. We are gonna be capturing these epic shots for the movie, for the video, or, excuse me, for the trailer for the Traffic Seekers book launch. But not just the trailer, also for the. It'll be ads and it'll also be. What's it called? The. The book cover. Yeah, sorry. Trying to get still image from this. This shot to be the book cover. So a lot of going into it, but we're excited. It's gonna be really, really fun. So that's what's happening today other than I'm gonna be working on the book and it was interesting as I'm working on the Book. Every hour or so of editing, I have to stop and take a break just to get my mind re excited. And then I come back. In between, I went and started watching some on Facebook, swiping and Instagram, just looking at stuff and looking for ads, as I do. And I was looking for the ads and I saw this person. And the person is someone who I consider a friend. I've known them for a long, long, long time online. And. And it's interesting as I watch the videos and then I start clicking around, looking at everything this person is doing. And it's interesting to me because this person's been around long enough, they've had success. But they're like. I can tell by the moves they're making right now that they're struggling a little bit, that are hitting the ceiling and they're trying to reinvent themselves. And so I'm watching this, and I know it because I've been through this cycle so many times in my own life anyway, so I'm keenly aware of it because I can. I can sense it because, like, yeah, you guys have heard my story. I've been up and down, up and down, up and down way more times than anyone should in business. And so I kind of. I can sense where he's at in the spot right now. And as I'm watching all the videos, all the ads, all the. Everything he's publishing right now, he's using significance to sell. So what does that mean? Significance is, hey, my name is so and so. I'm so great. Look what I did. Look what I've done here. Look what I did here. Look what I did here. Look what I did here. I. I'm amazing. I'm amazing. Buy my crap that's selling with significance. Talking about yourself, making yourself feel more significant. And I wanna step back real quick before I go too deep in this. And you always have to use some significance when you're selling, right? If someone's gonna be buying something from you, they've got. Especially if it's like you're selling, coaching or consulting or something, it's like. And they're trying to decide if they should plug into you, there's always a little bit of that. And for most of us, when we first get started, that's all we really have is our own story, right? Our own significance. Like, this is what we did. That was amazing. This is why you should trust me. And hopefully I'll help you have success as well, right? And so I'm not downplaying 100% because I understand that, like, a lot of us and me included, like, that's how you have to start. You sell your own significance at first. But this person's been in the game for at least 15 years now that I know of. And this person's had success for other people, but they're still relying on their own significance to sell their products and their services and all the things, right? And I guess I want to say that selling with significance through significance works, but it only works to a certain level if you want to get to the next level. The big secret is you can't keep selling through significance. If you look at my ads, my emails, my podcasts, the voice, the tone of the voice is coming from me and from click funnels. And I'm gonna say this with. Now that there's more people on the team, it's not always me writing every email, clicking send and everything. And so there's been times when my copywriters or my teams of people that are working have used more significance. And I see those messages. I'm always, like, cringing. I'm like. I message them. I'm like, look, this isn't about me anymore. This movement's about our people. This is about the people we're serving. This is about their success. Like, that's what I wanna be talking about. So I try to nip those things in the butt. Some things still slipped through. So like I said, you won't see me doing videos like I'm. Russell, look how big my company is. This is why I' so great. You should blah, blah, blah, right? If you look at what I'm talking about, I'm always talking about the success of my students, okay? I'm taking the significance off of me and putting the significance on them. That's the secret. That's the key. That's the next level. That's how you go from where you are today to where you want to go is stop talking about yourself. Selling through significance. It'll work and get to a certain point, but if you really want to expand and really, really had a massive impact and appeal and get to more people, it's selling through the stories of your success stories. Like, that's the big secret. I was listening to somebody's podcast the other day, and in the podcast, they were interviewing Stu McLaren, and Stu's been a good friend for forever, and they're telling the story. Stu came over for this podcast interview or something, and ahead of time, Stu had, like, a piece of paper and was jotting down names and the Person was like, oh, you're writing notes. And he's like, no, no, I'm not writing notes. I'm writing. I'm writing names of people whose stories I want to tell, people who are students whose stories. And the person interviewing was like, that's interesting. And they said later on in this podcast, what was fascinating. Every time I asked you a question, he never, ever said, yeah, well, my first membership site, blah, blah, blah, blah, all these members, and they love me. And like, every single time they'd ask a question and he would respond to the question with an answer from one of his success stories. Yeah, you see the distinction there? Guru A, who I will leave unnamed, would have and does. If you watch all this person's stuff, be careful not to say the person's name. If you watch, that person does. Every single time, it's, look what I did. Look how big my business is. Look how much money I made. Look at, look at, look at, look at, look how great I am. Selling through significance. Stu, on the other hand, sells through the success stories of his students, okay? A lot of S's in both of those. Selling through significance and selling through success stories of your students. And selling through success stories of your students is the thing that'll grow. It's the thing that makes it so people don't feel dirty when they buy from you. So you don't feel like, every time I watch Guru A's videos, every time I'm like, God, this person, like, loves himself. God, like. Like, I always feel this. I always feel dirty afterwards. And it can't just be me, right? It's. It's the market. The lowest tier of the market's gonna be like, oh, that person made billions. I'm gonna go and give them all my money. Because the lowest tier of the market, that's what they respond to. But the dream clients, the people you wanna serve, will not respond to that, okay? They don't. They won't. They respond to the success stories of your students, okay? So again, I'm putting this side by side on the left hand side, Guru number A sells through his own significance, or his. Or her, I should say, through their own significance. And Guru B, I'm gonna put Stu's name on it because Stu's the man sells through the success stories of their students, okay? One of them is cleaner, one of them feels better. One of them will give you more longevity from a risk standpoint, like you're more compliant from the ftc, from the advertising guidelines of sharing success stories of your students, okay? All these things are better when you shift away from selling through significance and start selling to success stories of your students. And so that's what I want you guys to do from this podcast, is look back at your marketing, look at your advertising, look at your emails, look at your ads, look at your Facebook lives, look at your videos, look at your Instagram, look at all the things and start asking myself, like, am I selling through significance? Am I just trying to show people how cool I am and hope they're going to come give me money? If so, maybe that's the wrong motivation, the wrong direction. Instead, what if I shifted back and took a step back and said, look, I'm gonna figure out the success stories of my students, okay? And start compiling those stories as opposed to building up your own. I quit telling my own stories a long time ago. Nobody wants to know, like, oh, Russell Brunson, his company makes whatever a day. It's funny, like, when I was making a million dollars a year, I wanted to tell everybody in the world that I make a million dollars a year. When we shifted to, like, a million dollars a day, I stopped caring. People stopped caring. They stopped sharing it like it didn't matter anymore. What mattered instead was like, oh, here's this person. Look at the success they had. And look at this person success they had. That's when it becomes real. That's when it becomes tangible. That's when your movement grows. When the movement is you bragging about how good you are, the movement will never grow. When the movement is you sharing the success stories of your students, that's what makes people want to be part of your movement. That's why they connect. That's why people come to funnel hacking live. Not because they want to see Russell get his 3 comma club award. They couldn't care less about me. They want to see their peers get their 2 comma club award, and they want to visualize themselves getting it next year. That's the secret. That's the magic, okay? And so I just want you guys looking at your marketing, your advertising, your storytelling, your videos, your everything through that lens, okay? If you want to have impact, if you want to just stay relevant for a very, very long time, you have to stop selling through significance, shift that away, and start selling to the success stories of your students. All right? That's all I got, you guys. If you enjoyed this at all, please tag it, Take a little picture on your phone, and then post it on Instagram, Facebook, do marketingsecrets, and then tag usselbrunson if you're on Instagram and then usselbrunsonhq, I think is my Facebook, I should know these things. Anyway, just tag me because I'm not gonna lie, I love opening my newsfeed and scrolling through and I see all the marketing seekers peeps who are tagging me with their screenshots and saying I love this episode cause of blah. Like it makes my day. So if you want to make my day and you want to show up in my news feed and have me know your name, that is the secret. Okay? I don't check emails, I don't check personal messages, but I'm always scrolling through my feed and people are tagging me with marketing secrets and tell me why they like it. I always look at those. I also by the way read the comments. So if you have a few extra seconds, you want to build up my significance and make me feel better about myself, please go to itunes and leave a rating and review. But you know, and all said, that doesn't really matter because I don't really care about my own significance. The bigger thing is I want to tell your story. So do the stuff we're talking about, have success with it, report back so I can brag about you, put you on stage, share your story with the world because your story needs to be heard. Alright, that's all I got. Thanks you guys. I appreciate you all. Have a nice day and we'll talk to you soon. Would you like to see behind the scenes of what we're actually doing each day to grow our company? If so, then go subscribe to our free behind the scenes reality TV show at www.funnelhacker.tv.