The Most Valuable Business Skill in the AI Age (And It’s Not AI)

We’re living in probably one of the weirdest times ever to be an entrepreneur.

Everywhere you look right now, somebody is talking about AI.

AI tools.

AI agents.

AI automations.

Build your business with AI.

Replace your team with AI.

Make a million dollars with AI.

Create your content with AI.

And look…

I love AI.

It’s an awesome tool. Freaking fantastic, actually.

I use it for a lot of different things in my businesses, and I think anybody who refuses to learn how to use it at all is probably making things unnecessarily difficult on themselves.

But I also think a lot of people are focusing on the wrong thing.

Because, at least in my opinion and from my experience, the most valuable skill you could develop right now isn’t becoming the world’s greatest prompt engineer.

It’s not learning the latest AI software.

And it’s definitely not jumping on every AI bandwagon because some guru told you this is your opportunity to get rich quick.

No shade to them, by the way.

If that’s your thing, cool.

I have friends doing it.

But I don’t believe going all in on AI is necessarily the right skill to go all in on.

Because underneath all of the tools, platforms, content strategies, funnels, ads and technology is a skill that has been valuable forever…

And I believe it’s going to become even more valuable as AI becomes more prevalent.

That skill?

Knowing how to influence and sell.

And if you can master that, I genuinely believe you can set yourself up financially for freaking life.

AI Is a Tool. It’s Not the Skill.

When the internet first became a thing, businesses obviously needed to learn how to use it.

You needed a website.

You needed to understand email.

Eventually, you needed social media.

You had to generally understand how the internet worked if you wanted to run a modern business.

But for most business owners, becoming an expert in the actual technology behind the internet wasn’t the thing.

Sure, some people became developers.

Some people were obsessed with technology.

That was their thing.

And that’s awesome.

But if you were a coach, consultant or service provider trying to help somebody solve a problem, you didn’t need to become a computer scientist.

You needed to learn how to use the technology to communicate, market and sell what you did.

I think AI is similar.

Some people are absolutely going to go deep into AI. They’ll build tools and software and agents and all sorts of crazy stuff.

Cool.

But for the average coach, consultant, expert or service provider?

I don’t think that’s where your greatest leverage is.

In fact…

Sometimes I think AI is the freaking devil.

Maybe.

But in all seriousness, one of my biggest gripes with what’s happening right now is that I think AI is actually making a lot of people less skilled.

They’re outsourcing their thinking.

They’re outsourcing their writing.

They’re outsourcing their communication.

They’re asking AI to tell them what to say before they even know what they believe.

And I see this firsthand.

I consult inside companies where the founders themselves struggle to write decent copy.

They don’t really know how to communicate what they do.

They can’t articulate why somebody should care.

They don’t understand how to take an idea and communicate it in a way that shifts somebody’s thinking.

And that leads us directly to the meta skill underneath all of this.

Influence and Sales Is the Meta Skill

If you know how to communicate in a persuasive and influential way, that skill travels with you everywhere.

You can use it in your content.

You can use it in your ads.

You can use it in emails.

You can use it on sales calls.

You can use it in workshops.

You can use it in webinars.

You can use it in VSLs.

You can use it when you’re coaching somebody.

You can use it when you’re leading a team.

You can use it when you’re trying to get somebody to make a decision that you genuinely believe will improve their life.

That’s why I call it a meta skill.

Because instead of being useful in one particular situation, it makes almost everything else you do better.

Better Influence Creates Better Marketing

If you understand influence, your content becomes more persuasive.

Your ads become more effective.

Your hooks get better.

Your messaging gets clearer.

Instead of posting a bunch of generic information and hoping somebody cares, you start communicating in a way that actually makes somebody stop and think:

“Holy crap. This person understands exactly what I’m dealing with.”

You generate better leads.

More qualified people book calls.

More people move through your funnels.

Your audience actually starts becoming curious about what you sell.

And it’s not because you learned some magical content hack.

It’s because you learned how to communicate.

Better Influence Creates Better Workshops

The same thing happens if you’re doing workshops, VSLs, masterclasses or webinars.

You can create better hooks.

Tell better stories.

Teach in a way that changes somebody’s perspective instead of dumping information on them.

And then when it’s time to make an offer, your call to action actually feels like a logical next step instead of this weird, abrupt transition where everybody realizes:

Oh crap. Here comes the pitch.

Better Influence Creates Better Sales Conversations

Obviously, this applies to sales calls too.

Because great sales isn’t about memorizing a bunch of scripts.

It’s about being able to help somebody shift beliefs.

You’re helping them change the way they see their problem.

You’re helping them question assumptions that might be keeping them stuck.

You’re helping them understand what’s possible.

And ultimately, you’re helping change thinking and beliefs that drive behavior.

Which, ironically, also makes you a better coach.

Because what is coaching?

A huge part of coaching is helping somebody change the behaviors that are producing their current results.

And what drives behavior?

Beliefs.

That’s why influence and sales, at the highest level, is really leadership.

It’s knowing how to lead somebody somewhere.

The Goal Is to Create Presold Buyers

One of the trainings I have inside my community is called The Seven Beliefs to Create Presold Buyers.

There are actually eight beliefs now.

I know.

It’s called seven.

I added another one.

It’s kind of like Robert Greene and 50 Cent adding another law after The 48 Laws of Power or something.

Whatever.

The point is this:

When you create content, your job isn’t simply to “provide value.”

Your content should help shift the beliefs somebody needs to have before buying your solution makes sense.

There are several core beliefs that have to change.

Belief #1: The Problem

First, your prospect has to believe that the real problem is different from what they currently think it is.

Let’s use weight loss because it’s an easy example.

Somebody might say:

“My genetics are screwing me.”

They believe genetics are the problem.

But as the coach, you might know the real issue is completely different.

Maybe they believe they need to constantly diet and “eat healthy.”

Your message might be:

“No, no, no. Your problem isn’t that you need another diet. Your problem is that you’ve never learned how to eat right for your body and your goals.”

Now you’ve introduced a new problem.

And when you introduce somebody to a problem they didn’t previously realize they had, you stretch the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

That creates curiosity.

Belief #2: Doubt

They also need to begin doubting their current approach.

This is important.

They shouldn’t simply think:

“Maybe I’m doing it incorrectly.”

They should start thinking:

“Maybe the actual approach I’m using is broken.”

Those are two very different conclusions.

Sometimes that means showing somebody that continuing to go at it alone is costing them more time, money and effort than getting help.

You’re creating doubt around the path they’re currently taking.

These types of beliefs usually work extremely well at the top of the funnel.

Facebook content.

Instagram content.

Ads.

Anything where you’re capturing attention and getting somebody to recognize that maybe what they’ve been doing isn’t the answer.

Belief #3: The Method

As somebody moves further into your world, they need to believe your method is categorically different from what they’ve already tried.

Not just slightly better.

Different.

When I was selling fitness and weight loss five or six years ago, I helped people lose stubborn belly fat.

But I wasn’t just saying:

“Hey, I’m going to teach you to eat better and strength train.”

They already knew that.

Obviously they weren’t doing those things correctly or they would’ve already gotten the result.

Instead, I introduced them to what I called my Stubborn Fat Solution.

That was my unique vehicle.

My method.

Then underneath that method were the different things we would do to help them get the result.

And I sold the vehicle.

When I could get somebody to believe that this was the path that made sense for them—or even create enough curiosity around the method—they wanted to know more.

That’s what great messaging does.

Belief #4: Desire

People also have to believe the outcome they want is actually possible for somebody like them.

That last part matters.

I do audits and consulting with a lot of people in the health, fitness and wellness space.

One person I worked with serves middle-aged women who are struggling with things like low energy, body fat, confidence and mindset issues.

A lot of them have hormones that are wrecked after years of dieting.

These women obviously have desires.

They want to feel fit again.

They want energy.

They want to look good.

They want to feel confident.

They want to be a healthy mom.

But many of them secretly don’t believe it’s possible anymore.

They’re thinking:

“I’m in my 40s now.”

“This is probably just what life is like.”

“Maybe genetically this isn’t possible for me anymore.”

So she doesn’t just need to teach them what to eat.

She has to shift the belief that their desired future is even available to them.

That’s influence.

Belief #5: Identity

People also buy into identities.

Steve Jobs was incredibly good at this with Apple.

Phil Knight did it with Nike.

People weren’t only purchasing products.

They were buying into what those products represented about who they were.

This matters because your marketing can help somebody stop focusing only on who they are today and begin seeing who they could become.

You’re giving them an aspirational identity.

And then, as prospects move further down the funnel, there are other beliefs you have to address.

Urgency.

The cost of inaction.

Why getting help could be faster than figuring everything out alone.

Trust.

Why you are the right person to help them.

But the concept underneath all of them is the same:

You’re helping people change the way they see their situation.

You Cannot Influence a Niche. You Influence a Person.

So how do you actually get better at this?

First, you have to understand who you’re talking to.

Not vaguely.

Specifically.

Because you cannot influence an entire niche.

You influence a person.

And the clearer you are on that person, the easier persuasive communication becomes.

Ask yourself:

• What are they struggling with right now?

• What results are they getting that they don’t like?

• What do they vent about to their friends?

• What have they already tried that isn’t working?

• How do they feel when nobody is watching?

• How would they secretly describe themselves right now?

• What do they say to themselves in private?

That’s their current struggle story.

Their before.

But then you need to understand the other side.

Who do they become after implementing your solution?

What’s their aspirational identity?

What results do they want?

What would they brag about to their friends?

What’s the new method you’re helping them implement?

How do they feel when they wake up every morning after getting the result?

How do they describe themselves now?

What do they say to themselves?

The clearer you become on their current struggle and their future identity, the easier it becomes to influence somebody through communication.

You’re no longer writing content for “women over 40.”

You’re communicating to a real human being.

Big difference.

A Simple 4-Step Formula for Belief-Shifting Content

Once you understand who you’re speaking to, here’s a really simple framework you can start using literally today.

This works great for shorter-form content.

A reel.

A caption.

A post.

A short video.

You can even use the same thinking on sales calls or when writing copy.

Step 1: Call Out the Current Belief

Name what they currently believe.

Maybe we’re talking about a 40-year-old woman trying to lose belly fat.

Her belief might be:

“My genetics are screwing me and there’s no way I can lose belly fat at my age.”

Great.

Surface it.

Say the thing she’s already thinking.

Step 2: Agitate It

Now show her the consequences of continuing to believe or act on that idea.

You can explain what happens.

But stories are usually even better.

Maybe she believes the solution is dieting harder.

You could explain:

“The more aggressively you diet, the more you risk wrecking your metabolism, messing with your hormones, losing muscle and ultimately making the problem even worse.”

Now you’ve created tension.

Step 3: Shift the Belief

Introduce a better explanation.

Maybe the answer isn’t dieting harder.

Maybe:

“What you actually need to do is learn how to eat right. You need the correct calories, proportions and foods for your body and your goals.”

Then back the new belief up with proof.

You could say:

“For example, my client Holly was in the exact same situation…”

Now you tell Holly’s story.

The proof helps the new idea stick.

Step 4: Land It

Finally, connect the new belief to the identity or outcome they actually want.

Something like:

“When you do this, you can finally start losing the stubborn belly fat, get your energy back and feel freaking amazing again.”

Now the idea has somewhere to go.

Call out the belief. Agitate it. Shift it. Land it.

Simple.

Fast.

Repeatable.

And it works really well.

The Belief Collapse Sequence

For longer-form content, workshops and deeper sales conversations, I use a more detailed version of the same idea that I call the Belief Collapse Sequence.

Because that’s literally what we’re doing.

We’re collapsing an old belief and helping somebody replace it with a better one.

The sequence looks like this:

1. Surface the belief.

2. Agitate the consequence.

3. Create a crack.

4. Reframe the problem.

5. Anchor the new method.

6. Show evidence.

7. Invite the next step.

Let’s break those down.

Surface the Belief

Start by saying what they currently believe.

Maybe a coach thinks:

“If I just post more content, eventually it’ll convert.”

Or:

“I just need more views.”

Or:

“I’m just not very good at sales.”

Don’t immediately attack the belief.

Surface it first.

Make them recognize themselves.

Agitate the Consequence

Then connect that belief to what they’re currently experiencing.

“That’s why you’re posting every single day and you’re still chasing people in the DMs.”

Or:

“That’s why your calendar is still half empty.”

You’re showing them what the current belief is costing them.

Create the Crack

Now you create a little crack in their certainty.

And no…

We are not doing crack.

Stay off drugs, kids.

What we’re creating is dissonance.

We want them to think:

Wait a second… maybe what I believe isn’t completely true.

There’s an amazing book called Sleight of Mouth. It’s a pretty deep read.

There’s also The User’s Guide to Sleight of Mouth, which is much more practical, and that’s where I learned a lot of this stuff.

There are several ways you can create this crack.

1. Redefine

Change the meaning of a word or phrase they’re using to justify their current belief.

For example:

“You call it ‘just giving value.’ I call it training your audience to never pay.”

Same behavior.

Completely different frame.

2. Show the Consequence

Take their belief to its logical conclusion.

If somebody believes posting more content is the answer, you could say:

“If more content was really the answer, wouldn’t the coach who has been posting two or three times every day for years already be a millionaire?”

But they’re not.

So maybe volume isn’t actually the problem.

3. Give a Counterexample

Provide an example that makes the old belief difficult to defend.

For example:

“My client only had 800 followers. She wasn’t running ads, and she signed 11 clients organically in 30 days.”

So if audience size were truly the problem…

That result should’ve been impossible.

Right?

That creates a crack.

4. Apply Their Logic Back to Them

Let them see the contradiction inside their own thinking.

Somebody trying to lose weight might say:

“I don’t have time to exercise.”

Okay.

But they also watch three hours of Netflix every night.

So maybe the belief isn’t really:

I don’t have time.

Maybe it’s:

I haven’t prioritized this.

Big difference.

5. Chunk Up

Zoom out to a bigger truth.

Weight loss is an easy example.

You could say:

“This isn’t just about whether you lose 20 pounds. It’s about whether your kids grow up watching you take care of yourself or watching you give up on yourself.”

Now we’ve moved beyond the number on the scale.

We’ve connected the decision to a bigger worldview.

That creates perspective.

Reframe the Problem

Once the old belief starts becoming shaky, you replace it with a better explanation.

You’re upgrading their model of reality.

Old belief:

“I need more content.”

New belief:

“I need content that shifts beliefs and creates presold leads.”

Old belief:

“People can’t afford my offer.”

New belief:

“They don’t yet believe my offer is worth the investment.”

That’s a completely different problem.

And if the problem changes, the solution changes.

Think of an actual picture frame.

Maybe you’re looking at a picture and you don’t like it.

You can change the picture.

Or maybe you like the picture, but you hate the frame.

Change the frame.

Either way, you’re changing something about how the image is perceived.

That’s essentially what a reframe does.

Anchor the New Method

Once you’ve changed how somebody sees the problem, introduce your methodology, solution or big idea.

“That’s why you need belief-shifting content.”

“That’s why you need to learn how to eat right instead of simply eating healthy.”

“That’s what I call pre-selling.”

You’re giving language to the new path.

And language matters.

Because now they have something they can understand, remember and become curious about.

Show Evidence

You can have the greatest reframe in the world, but people still need a reason to believe it.

So show evidence.

There are several ways to do that.

Personal Story

Show how you moved from the old belief to the new one.

What were you doing?

What changed?

What happened after you changed it?

Client Story

Show somebody like them getting the result.

This is powerful because people don’t only want to know whether something works.

They want to know:

“Will this work for somebody like me?”

Relatable Analogy

Analogies are freaking powerful when you use them correctly.

Let’s say I’m trying to convince you that your messaging matters.

I could tell you:

Imagine going to China and trying to order food.

You don’t speak Mandarin.

The person taking your order only speaks Mandarin.

You’re saying a bunch of words.

You think you’re communicating.

But they have absolutely no freaking clue what you’re saying.

They don’t get what they want.

You don’t get what you want.

It’s frustrating for everybody.

But magically, imagine you suddenly know how to speak Mandarin.

You say the right words.

They understand you.

You understand them.

You get your food.

That’s messaging.

If you’re saying what you think you should be saying but your audience isn’t signing up, buying or taking the next step…

You probably aren’t saying the right words, in the right way, in the right order, to the right people.

A good analogy takes something abstract and makes it concrete.

That’s what you want.

Don’t use some random example from 1922 about John C. Whoever that your audience has never heard of and now they need to take a freaking history class just to understand your point.

Make it relatable.

Borrowed Credibility

You can also borrow trust from people your audience already recognizes.

Back when I was doing weight loss, I would look at people like Chris Hemsworth or Scarlett Johansson and how they trained for movies.

Then I could say:

“Look, here’s what they were doing…”

Now I’m using a recognizable person to reinforce the principle.

I’ve done the same thing in business by referencing people like Russell Brunson or Alex Hormozi.

People already know them.

People already trust their expertise.

So their example can help support the point.

Real-World Examples

You can also pull examples completely outside your industry.

I’ve already done that in this article.

Steve Jobs and Apple.

That’s not my industry.

But it’s a real-world example everybody understands that demonstrates how powerful identity can be in influencing purchasing behavior.

The goal of evidence is simple:

Give the new belief something to stand on.

Then Give People Somewhere to Go

Finally, invite the next step.

This is another place people overcomplicate marketing.

If you helped somebody see their world differently…

Tell them what to do next.

Try something.

DM you.

Comment a keyword.

Watch another video.

Join a workshop.

Book a call.

Buy the thing.

Whatever the logical next action is.

People need direction.

Influence isn’t just helping somebody think differently.

It’s helping them move differently.

Why This Skill Becomes More Valuable as AI Gets Better

This is the part I think a lot of people are missing.

As AI gets better, creating stuff gets easier.

More content.

More emails.

More ads.

More landing pages.

More videos.

More information.

Which means the internet is going to become even noisier than it already is.

And the more everybody leans into sameness…

The more valuable originality becomes.

The more people outsource their thinking…

The more valuable somebody who actually knows how to think becomes.

The more people rely on AI to communicate for them…

The more valuable somebody who understands human behavior, persuasion, messaging, leadership and sales becomes.

That’s why I wouldn’t spend all my time asking:

How do I become great at AI?

I would ask:

How do I become great at influencing people ethically and effectively?

How do I understand somebody’s world?

How do I communicate an idea clearly?

How do I tell better stories?

How do I shift beliefs?

How do I help somebody see a possibility they currently can’t see?

How do I communicate value?

How do I help somebody move from confusion to clarity?

How do I lead people toward better decisions?

Learn that.

Then use AI to make you faster.

Use AI to help organize things.

Use AI as a tool.

But don’t let the tool replace the skill.

Because the more people lean into fakeness…

The more people become dependent on technology…

The more people lose their ability to communicate…

The person who actually knows how to influence, communicate, lead and sell is going to become more valuable—not less.

And you’re not just going to survive this AI era.

You’re going to freaking thrive in it.

So start practicing.

Look at your content.

Look at your ads.

Look at your workshops.

Look at your sales calls.

Ask yourself:

What does this person currently believe?

What do they need to believe instead?

How can I help them get there?

Master that skill.

Because tools are going to change.

Platforms are going to change.

Algorithms are going to change.

AI is definitely going to change.

But humans?

Humans are still going to have problems.

They’re still going to have desires.

They’re still going to have fears.

They’re still going to have doubts.

They’re still going to make decisions based on how they perceive the world.

And if you know how to communicate in a way that helps people see that world differently?

That skill can pay you for freaking life.

Get out there.

And let’s change some lives.

Who Is Jason Meland?

I am a value creator, mentor, and entrepreneur. I help online coaches master their messaging, attract dream clients, and build thriving high profit, high impact businesses.

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help You:

1. Grab a copy for the 5 posts responsible for 7 figures in online fitness sales: https://www.indemandcoach.com/5-posts-ebook-2505 

2. Join the waitlist to get an invite to join the Client Attraction Accelerator https://www.indemandcoach.com/in-demand-waitlist 

3. Work with me personally 1:1 to build a high profit, high impact online coaching business. DM me "mentorship" here for details