What’s Your Portable Sales Force?

The other day my client from Disney Destinations remarked, “I can’t believe there’s only one of you!”

Technically, he’s right. As a
freelancer, my enterprise solely consists of me, slogging it out, every day,
until the work is done. But that doesn’t mean the work goes unassisted. When
you hire yourself, you build a portable sales force. People and resources to
help to make it rain when you’re not around.

Here’s an overview of mine:

There’s my clients, whose condition I
try to improve every time we work together. That way, they won’t keep me a
secret. There’s my audience, whom I try to inspire every time they consume my
work. That way, they’ll come back again and again. There’s my suppliers, whom I
try to be easy to interact with every time we do a new project together. That
way, they won’t shy away from showcasing me in their portfolios. There’s my
content, which I publish every day with substantial volume, value, velocity and
vitality. That way, my daily gifts to the world contribute to an ongoing
body of work.

There’s my competitors, whom I try to
speak respectfully of every time we’re up against each other. That way, they
won’t mind referring me if they don’t fit the bill. There’s my colleagues, whom
I try to share resources with every time we’re brainstorming together. That
way, they won’t hesitate to extend same generosity when I ask for help. There’s
my editors, whom I try to make look like heroes every time they run my stuff.
That way, they wont forget about me for future issues. There’s my collaborators,
whom I try to be accountable to every time we work together. That way, they
won’t leave out my name when others are searching for partners.

This is my portable
sales force. It’s engine of my enterprise, the secret of my success and the
reason I rarely make cold calls.

Thank god.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s your portable sales force?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “22 Unexpected Ways to Help People,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.

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Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

Offline is the New Online

[ Email me, buy prints, inspire the office! ]

The purpose of online is to get offline.

Every time we email, tweet, retweet, direct message, instant
message, write somebody’s walls, upload pictures, publish videos, post reviews,
chime in on message boards, write blog posts, leave comments, press like
buttons and share links, our goal is to get one one step closer to interacting
with other human beings, face to face, in person.

The proof is everywhere.

In the political
realm, we’ve watched oppressive governments crumble, horrifying laws disappear
and war criminals meet their demise.

In the music
realm, we’ve watched performers leverage digital media to create live events
that bring joy to change the lives of fans forever.

In the movie
realm, we’ve watched online microfinancing enable the dreams of a generation of
hopeful filmmakers, whose ideas finally have a chance to make a difference.

In the business
realm, we’ve watched entrepreneurs use the power of mobile technology to hire
themselves, do work that matters and deliver value to their people.

All thanks to the bold people who used online to get
offline.

It’s not the future, it’s the present.

And if we never endeavor to communicate beyond digital, if we
never connect to each other by more than just pixels, we fail to experience the
truest, highest form of human interaction.

Online is the journey, offline is the destination.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you done offline today?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

If
this blog post resonated, perhaps you’d like a souvenir as a reminder.
To buy a print of my “nametaglines” photo for your office wall, send
an email to me, and you’ll have it in a week!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Scott has written and published over 1,000,000 words.

But did you know that you could commission Scott to write custom content for your publication, newsletter or blog?

View a sample of Scott’s commissioned work with American Express.

Download Every Book Scott Ginsberg Has Ever Written, For Free, Right Now, For Real!

As an artist, I’d rather be heard than paid.

My entire career as a writer, publisher, performer and
consultant has flourished on the power of giving myself away. And considering the current
expectation of the marketplace, why charge
customers for a digital cow they’re already milking for free?

Enjoy all 13 of my books as free downloads. For real.

(Also, please tell everyone you know to come to www.StealScottsBooks.com)

My first book wasn’t a book: It was a brand, a stand, a story and a statement. I wrote it during my senior year of college at Miami University. I had no plan, no goals and no motivation other than, “Writing is the only thing I can’t remember not doing, and if I don’t write this book, I will regret it.” So I did. And it changed my life forever.

Steal this book now!

Any sophomore effort is rife with pressure and expectation. And since I needed substance behind the shtick of the nametag, I chose approachability. Or maybe approachability chose me. It was hard to write and required a lot of research, since I didn’t have much experience to dwell on. But it’s still my best selling title of all time, and it helped me own that word in the marketplace. Plus it got me a quiz for Cosmo. Wow.

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Due to the nametag, everyone called me “that guy.” The difference was, they did so in a positive way. And I figured that would make a cool book. Polarizing title notwithstanding, I wrote it quickly and enjoyably, and it has sold well. My favorite part is the testimonial from my older brother, who has only read five books in his life, including this one. Score.

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The most beautiful book I’ve ever done. My design team knocked it out of the park with this one. The cover is striking, the inside pages are colorful and the title is perfect. What I love most about this book is how heavy it is, due to the full color bleed on the print version. It just feels valuable. Plus, the dedication is to my parents, on whom I blame everything good that happens in my life.

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The first in my series, this book was a response to my clients, who wanted to read short, fun, helpful books on specific job functions. Having worked in retail, food service and hospitality, it was cool to write from a service perspective. Not a lot of personal stories, just ideas I’d been learning as I traveled around the world, working with cool organizations.

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I don’t like sales and I’m not particularly skilled at sales. So I wrote this book for myself. It’s got solid content on enabling customers to buy, not just selling. And I’m really happy with a few of the chapter about questions and conversation. It helped me sell more and sell better, and the feedback from readers has been tremendous. Especially in the professional services arena.

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Managers are notorious for being unapproachable. I’ve certainly had bad ones in my day, so I wrote this book to help those in that role. And I’ll never forget the airport executive who grabbed a copy and asked if there was a chapter on getting employees to go away so you could actually get work done. I later added a chapter on boundaries to address that issue. Whew!

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It’s a concept album. Not a book, a symphony. And it’s structured with movements, codas, interludes and the like. So much fun to write. Two books in one. Engaging cover in “flip-flop” style. And it absolutely drove my design team crazy. Total pain in the ass to produce. But, it’s hard cover, and it feels super fancy and credible. Amazing how touch affects credibility.

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I’m not an angry person by any stretch of the imagination, but this book is basically me venting. Therapeutic to write, intense to read and I had a blast putting it together. But initially, I hesitated to publish it. And that’s how I knew it was important. So I did. Never charged for it. Always meant it to be a free download. And readers loved it. Especially me.

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I wrote this book on the floor of the food court in the mall by my old house. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, fun and intentionally corporate. Sold tons over the years. The content I adore. And it’s highly spiritual stuff, since I wrote around the time I began practicing yoga. Kind of a time capsule into my life in my late twenties. Gotta love those ducks.

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I think the bull on the cover of this book is the cutest thing ever. We must have browsed hundreds of graphics until we found the right one. Anyway, it’s another concept book. Most people didn’t get it. But my friends Adam and Jeremy and I came up with the chapter titles at our Sunday Sushi Club. Funniest table of contents ever written. Worth reading it just for that.

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I wrote this book because I was tired of hearing people complain about how they had ideas, but never did anything with them. Considering I made an entire career out of wearing a nametag, who better to write this book than me? It’s the first daily devotional, which became my trademark style once this book came out. First of its kind, very strong content.

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It seems wrong to pick your favorite book, but this one is so freaking amazing. The cover is stunning, the content is gold and I think I had the most fun and felt the most like myself while writing it. Another devotional, making dozens of family references, this book will always go down as a turning point in both my personal and professional lives.

Steal this book now!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you given away for free this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

Send a friend to www.StealScottsBooks.com and give me as a gift to them.

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

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