Rob Kosberg on How to Create Content That Drives Business Results 'I can show people how to go from hunting clients to having clients hunt them.'

In this series called Member Showcase, we publish interviews with members of The Oracles. This interview is with Rob Kosberg, CEO and founder of Best Seller Publishing, a company that helps experts position themselves in their marketplace with a bestselling book. It was conducted and condensed by The Oracles.

1. Who was your biggest influence growing up?

My first mentor was my dad. He was an entrepreneur with his own real estate company and taught me the value of hard work. At 18, I started selling real estate and didn't know anything. Dad took me aside and said, "To be successful, arrive at the office at 7 a.m. every morning, print out the expired listings, get the newspaper (remember, this was pre-internet) and get on the phone by 8 a.m."

I followed his advice, calling every expired listing all day, every day. By my second month in business, I'd sold five homes. Within the first couple years, I became a top 100 agent for Century 21 Real Estate in Florida.

2. What are you more skilled at than most people in the world?

My superpower is helping others build "attention" around their life and business. With the right content and promotional techniques, I can show people how to go from hunting clients to having clients hunt them.

There are fundamental principles behind attracting leads. These same guiding principles can be game-changing for people across fields: surgeons, dentists, coaches, consultants, plumbers, etc. I have a knack for helping others apply those principles so their businesses grow.

3. What excites you the most about your business right now?

It's super exciting watching people's businesses being transformed by publishing a book. Just recently, one of my authors was invited to address the United Nations because of his book. Business is rewarding, but it's challenging, right? If you're always worried about where the next customer is coming from, that's not very fun as an entrepreneur. A business's lifeblood is bringing in new clients.

I love to help people create the processes and systems that ensure they'll never really have to worry about where their next customer is coming from again. I love giving business owners those tools.

4. What book changed your mindset or life?

For a book guy, I wasn't an avid reader in high school. Only later in life did I discover the wealth of wisdom in books.

I couldn't give you one single book that changed my mindset; it was more the act of reading many over time. I'm currently reading Ray Dalio's "Principles," which has been eye-opening. Dalio is a self-made billionaire, who has run the largest hedge fund in the world for decades, and here he is, sharing in several hundred pages everything he knows. I mean, where else can you access that kind of priceless knowledge but in a book?

5. What advice would you give to your younger self?

I'd tell myself to focus on creating content in all forms: written content with books, video content with training videos, audio content with podcasts—there's nothing more valuable than creating content that has a purpose. I stumbled upon the real value of content when I wrote my first book in 2008, and then had my own radio show. The right content attracts a self-selected group of fans who can be transformative in growing your business.

6. How do you define great leadership?

There's a leadership pyramid. At the bottom is a generalist. One level up from that is a specialist. The next level (where things get really exciting) is an expert, then a thought leader. At the very top of the pyramid, celebrity. Great leaders connect with their audience. You could be the smartest person in the world, but if you're perceived poorly in your industry or even worse, no one knows you, then your knowledge is worthless. That's unfortunate but it's the truth.

7. How do you evaluate a good business deal?

A good business deal has a win-win scenario. That sounds cliché, but if it's not a win for the other person, they won't be invested in your success.

Lots of people want to pick my brain for free advice, but free advice is the worst kind of information because the person asking won't do anything with it. Unless they've invested something and have "skin in the game," they won't commit to following through. I look for business deals where there's a win-win and both parties are invested in the outcome.

8. Which habit gives you 80 percent of your results?

My morning routine is crucial to me. First, I take time for prayer and meditation. Then, I consume content and create content. I read or watch something that's valuable to my life or business. I take notes and think about it. Then, I create content that I think would be valuable and make a difference in the lives of my audience.

9. What are you working on right now?

I'm going all in on platform-building. There are three primary ways to build your platform. One is paid advertising, which we do a lot of. Another is media placements, and our in-house PR department places clients for that. The last is owning the platform yourself. That means things like podcasting, YouTube, blogging—which I've neglected. So, that's something I'm focusing on now: building a new blog and my podcast.

10. What do you want your legacy to be?

My family. I've been married for 29 years; my wife and I are super close. We have three kids and we're a tight-knit family. For me, legacy is about my wife and children. I want to ensure they're supported in all their dreams. I want to be the kind of dad, leader, and husband who makes them proud. Maybe that sounds a little corny, but if things aren't right at home, then what else is there?