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  • Susan Payton on Selling Through Story

    Susan Payton on Selling Through Story
    2026/10/15
    Susan Payton, author of the international bestseller "The Business of Stories" and host of "The Business of Stories" podcast, joins Joe Gregory to break down how business owners can use storytelling to sell more — without feeling salesy.

    Susan shares the real reason she wrote her book (hint: it wasn't for clout), the framework she uses with clients (personal story → business story → customer story → why → people → value → sweet spot), and why the common marketing advice "don't make it about you" is dead wrong.

    You'll learn:
    - Why hiding yourself from your marketing actually hurts trust
    - The "hero and guide" framework for telling stories that convert
    - How to find the story behind the story (the real message)
    - What happened when Susan got flown business class to speak in Barcelona — all because of her book
    - Her simple 3-step starting point for anyone thinking about writing a business book

    Chapters
    0:00 Intro: Meet Susan Payton
    0:46 Why Susan wrote her book — the real story
    2:07 The exhaustion of one-to-one client work
    4:26 The moment Lucy pushed her to write a book
    6:21 Writing the book for "Marion" — designing for one reader
    8:45 The Venn diagram: personal, business, customer story
    9:44 How the book became a podcast, course, and group program
    10:10 Why "don't talk about yourself" is bad advice
    12:04 The dating analogy: why hiding yourself is "creepy"
    16:00 Story prompts in action — Joe's real results
    18:11 "This is magic" — a client's first LinkedIn story gets her a client in 2 days
    19:16 What makes a story actually useful (not just inspiring)
    20:27 The hero and the guide — the Star Wars framework
    26:26 Susan's full storytelling framework, step by step
    26:33 Step 1: Personal story
    27:14 Step 2: Business story
    27:52 Step 3: Customer story
    28:30 Step 4 & 5: Your two "whys" (personal why vs. bigger why)
    29:33 Step 6: Your people (niching down)
    31:12 Step 7: Your value
    31:49 Step 8: The sweet spot — where it all connects
    33:37 Pinch-me moments from the book
    35:00 From fear of public speaking to being flown to Barcelona
    38:00 Susan's advice for anyone thinking about writing a book
    40:03 Where to find Susan and get the free book
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    42 分
  • Andy Lopata: 6 Books, 25 Years, One Big Lesson About Building Authority

    Andy Lopata: 6 Books, 25 Years, One Big Lesson About Building Authority
    2026/10/08
    Should you write a business book? Most people in the author/speaker world will tell you yes, without hesitation — it's "the thing you have to do" to be seen as credible. Andy
    Lopata disagrees, and in this episode he explains why.Andy Lopata is an internationally recognized expert in professional relationships, with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations unlock the strategic value of connection.

    He's the author of six books, host of the Connected Leadership Podcast, a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a writer for Harvard Business Review.

    He's worked with organizations including PayPal, Google, Harrods, the BBC, and Said Business School, and has spent his career helping leaders and teams build the relationships that
    drive collaboration, trust, and long-term results.In this conversation, Joe Gregory and Andy dig into the real, unfiltered story behind six books written over 20+ years — what worked, what didn't, and what he'd tell anyone thinking about writing their own:
    • Why a book can hurt your reputation as easily as help it
    • What actually built Andy's authority more than his books did
    • The book that took 3 years and 4 drafts — and still underperformed
    • The book that took 2 weeks and became an award finalist
    • The infamous Amazon #1 bestseller campaign that got beaten by Noel Edmonds
    • Andy's current work on "relational intelligence in the age of AI"
    Timestamps:
    00:00 Cold open
    01:05 Who is Andy Lopata
    01:37 What made Andy write his first book
    07:39 Should everybody write a book?
    11:38 Articles vs. books: which built more authority
    14:15 When is the right time to write a book?
    16:08 The 3-year book that underperformed
    18:06 The 2-week book that became an award finalist
    21:37 The Amazon bestseller stunt (and Noel Edmonds)
    24:48 Relational intelligence in the age of AI
    29:54 The Relationship Matrix framework
    32:25 Where to find Andy

    Connect with Andy: andylopata.com
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    34 分
  • Rosie Nice & The MAGIC Framework: A Coach's Guide to Better Questions

    Rosie Nice & The MAGIC Framework: A Coach's Guide to Better Questions
    2026/10/01
    Rosie Nice has spent 25+ years coaching and training coaches — and in this episode she breaks down why she finally turned her methodology into a book, Magic Happens In The Silence.

    We cover the MAGIC framework (Mirror, Aspirations, Goals, Ideas, Commitments), why silence is one of the hardest skills for a coach to master, how she rebranded her entire business around the book, the "pinch me" moments since publishing (including selling 45 copies in one conversation), and her honest advice for any expert who's hesitant to finally write their own book.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why Rosie finally turned 25+ years of coaching methodology into a book — and what pushed her to "finalize" a version instead of endlessly tweaking it
    • The MAGIC framework (Mirror, Aspirations, Goals, Ideas, Commitments) and how it structures a reflective coaching conversation
    • The four types of silence coaches encounter (reflective, comfortable, awkward, acrimonious) and why not interrupting silence is harder than not interrupting speech
    • How rebranding her business around the book (from "ESB Training" to "Magic Coaching") made her offer more consistent and aligned
    • Why giving the book away has driven more business than selling it — including a concrete case where one conversation led to 45 books sold on the spot and roughly £10,000 in follow-on training work
    • Joe's "GAPS" method (Give, Ask, Propose, See it through/Sell) for using a book as a relationship-building tool rather than a product
    • How becoming a published author changed the way clients and prospects perceived her credibility, and opened doors like hosting a podcast for the Association for Coaching
    • What it took, emotionally, to hit "send" on the manuscript — including the role her daughter played in getting her past perfectionism
    • Rosie's practical advice for any expert who's hesitant to write their own book: know who you're writing for, know why, and test your ideas before committing them to paper
    Chapters
    00:00 Intro — meet Rosie Nice
    01:00 What led Rosie to finally write the book
    04:22 The story behind the title: "Magic Happens In The Silence"
    06:13 The different types of silence in coaching
    08:34 Who Rosie works with — individuals, teams, organizations
    08:50 Renaming the business from "ESB" to "Magic Coaching"
    10:34 Using the book inside training programs (giving it away)
    12:15 "Pinch me" moments since publishing — 45 books sold on the spot
    13:33 Sending the early draft, and the client who became an advocate
    16:29 Does being an author create an edge over other coaches?
    18:09 Joe's "GAPS" method — give, ask, propose, sell/see it through
    19:05 Other ways Rosie has gifted and spread the book (audiobook, discounts)
    20:56 Doors the book opened — hosting a podcast for the Association for Coaching
    22:36 Business owner with a book vs. becoming an author
    23:33 Her daughter Emily's role in getting her to finally hit "send"
    27:19 Owning the "author" identity
    28:22 Rosie's bigger mission beyond the book
    31:00 Advice for experts hesitant to write their own book
    32:26 Where to find Rosie and her programs
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    35 分
  • James Woodfall: AI Can Write Your Book, But It Can't Live Your Life

    James Woodfall: AI Can Write Your Book, But It Can't Live Your Life
    2026/09/24
    James Woodfall built and sold a wealth management business, wrote two books with Rethink Press, and now runs Raise Your EI, helping professional services firms build emotional intelligence into their leadership and client relationships.

    In this episode, James and host Joe Gregory dig into:
    • Why writing a book forces you to "stress test" your own thinking
    • The health scare (aneurysms discovered via a full-body MRI) that led him to sell his business
    • How his master's dissertation on financial advisors and emotional intelligence became his second book, The Heart of Finance
    • Why he believes AI is a great thinking tool but a dangerous writing crutch
    • The identity shift from "entrepreneur with a book" to "author and authority"
    • Where professional services still beat AI — and where they don't
    Connect with James: raiseyourei.co.uk

    Chapters
    00:00 — Introduction to James Woodfall
    01:39 — Why he decided to write his first book
    03:07 — How writing forces "thinking time" and articulation
    04:58 — Realizing how much of his thinking was "borrowed"
    07:00 — The real subject of Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs
    11:11 — The health scare: aneurysms discovered during a preventative MRI
    12:37 — Deciding to sell the business, with his wife pregnant
    13:33 — The master's dissertation that became The Heart of Finance
    16:45 — Co-authoring with Dr. Cliff Lansley
    17:40 — How the book changed his speaking opportunities
    18:49 — The "author identity threshold" conversation
    21:35 — Why self-published books without an editor miss the mark
    23:23 — On using AI to write books: "You're only cheating yourself"
    25:16 — Why emotional intelligence matters more as AI commoditizes knowledge work
    29:36 — What his current business, Raise Your EI, actually does day to day
    33:22 — How the book functions as a business development tool
    34:26 — Expanding beyond financial planning into new sectors
    36:36 — The meaning behind The Heart of Finance title and cover
    37:51 — Where to find James and get the book
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    40 分
  • Robin Waite: Why Giving Away Books Beats Selling Them

    Robin Waite: Why Giving Away Books Beats Selling Them
    2026/09/17
    Robin Waite has published seven books, sold tens of thousands of copies, and built an entire coaching business — Fearless Business — off the back of his writing. In this episode of Book the Business, Joe Gregory sits down with Robin to unpack two decades of entrepreneurship, three very different books, and the counter-intuitive strategy that's driven his growth: giving books away instead of trying to sell them.

    Robin opens up about the mental breakdown that led him to shut down his marketing agency, how a chance conversation turned into his bestselling parable "Take Your Shot," and the wild chain of events that connected him to Ali Abdaal — resulting in 3,000 free books, roughly 50 new coaching clients, and around £300K in revenue from a single podcast appearance. He also shares how he's rebuilt his latest book, "Fearless Pricing," as a fully interactive digital experience using AI tools like Lovable, inspired by a beta-reading system used by Steven Bartlett.Whether you're an author, a coach, or a service-based entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with practical, tested tactics for using a book as a client-generation engine — not just a vanity project.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why Robin closed his 100-client marketing agency after a personal breakdown — and how that decision led to writing his first book
    • The real difference between working with a hybrid publisher and self-publishing (and why Robin doesn't regret either)
    • Why Robin deliberately gives away far more books than he sells, and how that strategy fuels client acquisition
    • The economics of book size, print cost, and postage — and why his second book was intentionally shorter than his first
    • How a single mention from Ali Abdaal turned into 3,000 gifted books, ~50 new clients, and roughly £300K in revenue
    • Why Robin hand-signs and personally posts every book he gifts — and the philosophy behind "gifting energy"
    • How he turned his old book content into a YouTube series, and why he assumes most people who request a free book will never read it
    • How AI tools like Lovable let him rebuild "Fearless Pricing" as an interactive, trackable digital reading experience
    • Robin's current coaching focus: helping service-based business owners charge more by serving fewer, higher-value clients
    Chapters
    00:00 – Introduction to Robin Waite and Book the Business
    01:01 – Robin's first book, "The Online Business Startup" (2014/15)
    01:39 – Why Robin wrote a book in the first place (Daniel Priestley's influence)
    02:32 – Robin's business journey: agency life to coaching
    04:22 – The moment that turned one chapter idea into a full book
    05:25 – 2016: the breakdown that led Robin to close his agency
    06:34 – The book's slow-burn success: 2.5 years as a #1 bestseller
    07:56 – Officially becoming a coach and launching Fearless Business
    08:10 – Planning "Take Your Shot" as a business parable
    09:34 – Why Robin chose to tell it as a story, not a how-to
    10:00 – The real story of Russ, Robin's first paid coaching client
    12:16 – How many books Robin has actually published (six or seven)
    13:03 – Hybrid publishing vs. self-publishing: what each taught him
    14:00 – The book-gifting strategy: capturing leads instead of chasing sales
    14:30 – Why book length and print cost shaped his second book
    15:13 – Gifting books to over 120 countries
    15:53 – Why giving books away drives more sales than selling them
    17:22 – Audiobooks outselling Kindle and paperback combined
    18:30 – Repurposing book content into a YouTube series
    19:22 – Assuming readers won't actually read the book — and planning around it
    19:52 – Personally hand-signing and posting every gifted book
    20:37 – The "gifting energy" philosophy behind giving away his best work
    21:40 – Physical books vs. PDFs — and why he avoided digital for years
    22:23 – Building an interactive digital version of "Fearless Pricing"
    22:44 – Using Lovable (AI tool) to turn a static PDF into an experience
    23:00 – Inspired by Steven Bartlett's beta-reader system with eye tracking
    24:17 – The "experience" philosophy, from Zoom backgrounds to book formats
    25:02 – "Fearless Pricing" launch details and formats
    25:20 – Robin's "pinch me" moments as an author
    25:48 – The Unfair Advantage Mastermind and meeting Ali Abdaal
    27:36 – The Ali Abdaal podcast appearance: 3,000 books, ~50 clients, ~£300K
    28:50 – Books as both a door in and a key that opens doors
    30:01 – Who Robin works with today and his core coaching philosophy
    31:07 – Where to get "Take Your Shot" and "Fearless Pricing"
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    32 分
  • Dominic Colenso: How Writing a Book Changed His Life (and Career) Forever

    Dominic Colenso: How Writing a Book Changed His Life (and Career) Forever
    2026/09/10
    Joe's guest today is Dominic Colenso — a former Hollywood actor and RADA teacher who now helps leaders and sales teams cut through the noise and perform when it matters most. He's the bestselling author of Impact (Rethink Press, 2019) and his latest book, Cut Through — currently shortlisted for Business Book of the Year.

    In this episode they cover: why Dominic wrote his first book, the "six ingredients of Impact" methodology, adapting his acting skills for the camera during lockdown, the real ROI of becoming an author, why AI can't replace lived experience in writing, his "pinch me" author moments, and the wild story of playing Virgil Tracy in the Hollywood Thunderbirds movie — including the lost sequel deal and getting fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell himself.

    Connect with Dominic: dominiccolenso.com | YouTube | LinkedIn
    Books: Impact (2019) & Cut Through (2025)

    What You'll Learn
    • Why visibility — not sales — was Dominic's real reason for writing his first book
    • How writing *Impact* forced him to codify his "six ingredients" methodology
    • How he adapted his acting/on-camera skills into a virtual training business during lockdown
    • The actual business ROI of becoming a published author (bigger clients, higher fees, easier trust)
    • Why he believes AI can draft words but can't replicate the authority of lived experience
    • How he uses physical copies of his books as a sales and speaking tool
    • His "pinch me" moments as an author, including a Business Book of the Year shortlisting
    • The story of playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood's "Thunderbirds" — and why the $1M sequel deal fell apart
    • How he got fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell, and what happened right after
    • How "Impact" and "Cut Through" work together as a two-book system for communication and pitching
    Chapters
    00:00 Cold open — spaceship, $1M, fired by Simon Cowell
    00:51 Meet Dominic Colenso
    01:12 Why he wrote his first book: visibility
    02:41 The surprise: writing forced him to codify his "six ingredients of Impact"
    04:41 Adapting acting skills for the camera / lockdown pivot to virtual training
    07:24 The real business ROI of being a published author
    09:28 Why AI can't replace the "identity shift" of writing your own book
    12:59 How he deploys his books to land speaking gigs
    14:49 Books as gifts — using signed copies to build authority
    17:04 "Pinch me" moments: Business Book of the Year shortlist, seeing Cut Through face-out in Waterstones
    18:39 Being recognized by readers
    20:20 The spaceship: playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood's Thunderbirds
    21:35 Losing the million-dollar sequel deal
    22:50 Why Thunderbirds flopped (release date moved into Spider-Man 2 / Shrek 2)
    24:38 Fired by Simon Cowell from an X Factor drama
    27:32 Fame vs. being a recognized author
    29:02 How Impact and Cut Through fit together
    32:24 Where to find Dominic (website, LinkedIn, YouTube)
    33:11 Outro
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    33 分
  • James Church: Why Your Book Should Be a Gift, Not a Product

    James Church: Why Your Book Should Be a Gift, Not a Product
    2026/09/03
    James Church built a £250M fundraising track record, wrote the Amazon bestseller The Investable Entrepreneur, and used it to become the go-to authority for founders raising early-stage capital. Then his business partnership fell apart at the end of 2025 — and the book he wrote seven years earlier became his insurance policy, helping him rebuild in months instead of years.

    In this episode of Book the Business, James joins host Joe Gregory to break down:
    • Why he wrote the book and how he structured six months of late-night writing around a newborn
    • The moment he found a pirated copy of his own book on Amazon
    • Why giving your book away beats trying to sell it
    • The LinkedIn outreach system (Rythm.uk) generating 30–40% reply rates from book gifting
    • How a book became a "personal brand insurance policy" when his business failed
    • Why the fundamentals of fundraising haven't changed since 2019, despite AI

    Chapters
    00:00 Intro — who is James Church
    01:01 Why James decided to write a book
    02:09 The writing journey: discipline, structure, late nights
    04:12 Robot Mascot — pivoting from branding to fundraising
    06:19 The book as a "flag in the ground" for authority
    07:26 Landing premium clients (royal family office example)
    09:05 Why the fundamentals haven't changed since 2019
    10:14 The pirated copy of his own book
    11:42 Turning the book into a personal-brand campaign
    12:22 Pre-launch buzz, speaking gigs, and giving the book away
    14:27 The real ROI isn't royalties — it's the business it generates
    16:19 Two versions of the book, business failure, and the "insurance policy"
    18:19 Rebuilding in 7 months what took 5 years the first time
    19:00 People buy from people, not logos
    21:00 Daniel Priestley's "Faceless" report & Key Person of Influence
    22:22 The book as a key that opens doors
    24:29 The "business development manager that never sleeps"
    25:04 Why a physical book beats a PDF lead magnet
    26:00 Giving away knowledge in the AI era
    28:09 Rythm.uk — systemizing the outreach
    29:00 30–40% LinkedIn reply rates from book gifting
    30:43 Why the results are so consistent
    31:22 Why gifting disarms cold-outreach fatigue
    32:30 Advice to authors: give it away, don't sell it
    33:19 Why traditional publishing contracts block this strategy
    34:09 Giving books away actually increases sales
    36:10 Shout-out to fellow author David Horn
    36:30 Final advice for anyone considering writing a book
    37:24 Where to find James and get a free copy
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    38 分
  • Georgie Dickins - The C-Suite Confidant: Lessons from Stratospheric CEOs

    Georgie Dickins - The C-Suite Confidant: Lessons from Stratospheric CEOs
    2026/08/27
    Georgie Dickins is a C-suite coach, confidant, and author who works behind the scenes with Fortune 50 executives and founder-CEOs building multi-billion-dollar companies. Her book, Stratospheric CEOs (Rethink Press, 2024), distills the lessons of seven elite founder-CEOs into one collection of hard-won wisdom.

    In this episode of Book the Business, Georgie tells Joe Gregory:
    - Why she left 20 years in corporate banking to become a C-suite advisor
    - How a single conversation with a founder became the spark for her book
    - Why ghostwriters and AI clip-generators couldn't capture the nuance she needed
    - The leadership aphorisms she's collected from stratospheric CEOs: "raise the bar, widen the gap," "if it ain't broke, break it," and "two ears, one mouth"
    - Why storytelling — not strategy — might be the #1 skill of top leaders today
    - How her book became a "living, breathing CV" that opened doors she never had to ask for
    - The launch of her upcoming Stratospheric Leadership Institute

    🔗 Find Georgie: georgiedickins.com
    🎧 Listen to Stratospheric Leaders on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
    📖 Georgie's book: Stratospheric CEOs (Rethink Press)

    Chapters
    00:00 Intro: Meet Georgie Dickins
    00:48 Why she wrote Stratospheric CEOs
    02:46 Leaving 20 years of corporate banking
    04:34 Choosing the niche: founder-CEOs in fintech
    06:01 The "pinch me moment" that got Lance Iglor on board
    07:24 The mission: democratizing CEO-level wisdom
    09:42 Why "stratospheric," not just "successful"
    11:07 Why ghostwriters (and AI) couldn't write the book for her
    12:43 Writing 50% of the book on a rainy family holiday
    13:39 What actually drives billionaires who "have it all"
    16:15 "Raise the bar, widen the gap" — Lance's leadership motto
    16:52 "If it ain't broke, break it" — Henry Fernandez's philosophy
    18:09 Curating bespoke leadership books (Raise the Bar)
    21:08 The 2024 NYC book launch with 120 global leaders
    23:14 The book as a "living, breathing CV"
    24:09 Writing before AI was on anyone's radar
    25:37 More nuggets: "wombats," "common sense isn't common practice"
    26:47 Why execution — not ideas — separates top CEOs
    27:23 "Two ears, one mouth": the listening discipline of top leaders
    29:24 Why storytelling is the #1 leadership skill
    32:05 Where AI can't go: real stories, real trust
    33:25 Appropriate vulnerability vs. oversharing
    35:01 Inside the coaching room: advisory + coaching hybrid
    39:18 Convening CEO circles and Women in Leadership events
    42:00 Shout-out: her son Arthur's Rugby Legends Podcast
    44:37 Where to find Georgie and Stratospheric Leaders
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    46 分