8 Ways to Make Your Name More Invokable

“I invoke your name a lot.”

Now THERE’S a compliment.

If people start telling YOU that they’re telling others ABOUT you, congratulations.

That makes you invokable.

Not in a religious way or anything. I assume your clients, friends and fans aren’t setting up candle-lit shrines with pictures, newspaper clippings and locks of your hair in their bedrooms.

Wait. ARE they?

Nevermind.

THE POINT IS: Having someone “invoke” your name is exponentially more powerful, more memorable and more valuable than having someone just “say” it.

Here’s why: The word “invoke” derives from the Latin invocare, which means, “to call upon for help.”

Therefore:

When people invoke your name, they’re building your credibility.
When people invoke your name, they’re advancing your mindshare.
When people invoke your name, they’re enhancing your personal brand.

Ultimately, being invokable is a combination of being quotatable, remarkable, referable and aboutable.

THE CHALLENGE IS: How can you continually boost your invokability?

Because straight-up ASKING people to do so won’t work. Nobody is going to invoke your name just because you put in a request. Word of mouth is casual, unsolicited and authentic. It’s just like referability: The minute you try to force it, you lose it.

So, let’s look at eight ways to become more invokable:

1. Purple cows MUST give milk. Building remarkability into your products and services before they’re released isn’t enough. Baseline remarkability is only the beginning. You need preserve originalness by assuring that your unique value proposition has (some) transformational purpose connected to it.

The secret is advancing your name to the second level: Enduring remarkability. Here’s what that looks like:

(Remarkable) + Relevant + Worthwhile + Marketable + Substantive + Consistent.

Any name connected to those attributes will become impossible NOT to invoke. Are you remarkable but inconsequential?

2. Free is your friend. Speaking of purple cows. Seth Godin and Jeffrey Gitomer are two people whose names I invoke almost daily. And it’s not just because they’re my friends, but also because they freely distribute their wisdom. Everywhere.

Lesson learned: Don’t come off as someone with a sense of scarcity. It’s hard to invoke people who are selfish with their knowledge. Are people working energetically to favorably and publicly mention YOU?

3. Consider your own invocations. Next, think of the three people whose names you invoke most frequently. Ask yourself: What have they done – or what do they continuously do – that makes YOU so willing to drop their name? Is it because of their attitude and actions; or more of a foundational component like character?

Either way, your job is twofold: (1) Pinpoint that which drives their invokability, and (2) Challenge yourself to achieve similar standards in your own life. People will notice, and people will talk. Whom do you invoke regularly, and why?

4. Put yourself in invokable positions. In 2000 when I began wearing a nametag 24-7, I was a college student at Miami University. One of the first trends I noticed – other than the weird looks from strangers and the inability to get a date, EVER – was that my professors started calling on me during class a lot more.

And the strange thing was, I didn’t raise my hand more. I didn’t sit in the front more. I didn’t even study that much. But, by virtue of being the ONLY student in the entire class whose name was visible FOR the entire class, my invokability instantly doubled. Literally. Professors called on me for everything. Especially during those awkward moments when none of the students raised their hands. Professors would think, “Well, I guess I’ll just call on Scott again.”

Huh. Maybe that’s what happens when you put yourself in an invokable position: It’s sheer probability.

In fact, you wanna hear something kinda spooky? Fast forward to today, ten years out of college. The exact same trend of invokability happens to me when I take yoga class. Instructors – who have never had me in class before – will use my name constantly. And I’ll get these weird looks from the other students because they think I’m, like, sleeping my way to the front of the room. Which I’m not. Hell, I’m not even that good at yoga.

But the role of the instructor is to challenge and support the student’s practice. And it’s just easier to do so when there’s a guy with a nametag tattooed across his chest staring back at you. Lesson learned: If you want to be in the right place at the right time, you need to be in a lot of places. How many places are YOU in?

5. Stick yourself out there. My favorite Law of the Universe is, “Whatever you want to get, just try GIVING that thing first.” It works for pretty much anything: Love. Trust. Kindness. Referrals. Occasional dirty looks. And the cool part is, the same principle applies to becoming more invokable: Do it for others, and they will do it for you.

Start by becoming an invoker yourself. Period. Now, one word of caution. Steel yourself against the temptation to become one of those incessant, name-dropping bottom feeders who spends WAY too much time hitching free rides on the coattails of others. People will assume you can’t think for yourself, and you will lose. Are you willing to ante up first?

6. Become a known entity. The next way to boost invokability is to create a game plan for remaining on people’s radars. This helps you achieve what I call “Radar Equity.” And it begins by asking yourself five questions:

a. Whose radar do I want to be on?
b. What do I want to happen as a result of being on it?
c. Who do I know that is already on that person’s radar?
d. What steps have they taken to get there?
e. What actions could I take to emulate those steps?

Remember: The secret to Radar Equity is that you have to EARN the right to be on it. That means publishing. That means social networking. That means OFF-line networking. Whatever it takes. How can you position yourself so thousands of people whom you never met will get to know you instantly?

7. Stop occupying the middle. People will recall and invoke your name if the philosophy attached to it is unexpected and non-template driven. Your challenge is to build an original, fertile and uncommon Theory of the Universe. Your strategy is to maintain contrarian positions to as many subjects as you can. And your action item is to make a list of all the conventional wisdom, traditional principles and standard operating procedures you disagree with or oppose to. Is your thought leadership position a waffle?

8. Thank your invokers. When people invoke your name – either in person, during a presentation or somewhere online – ALWAYS thank them. Send an email, instant message, wall-to-wall on Facebook or tweet them a direct message. Tell them you appreciate the kind words.

And, in your daily Gratitude Journal, be sure to write down the invokers you’re thankful for that day. I do it every morning. EVERY morning. And it works. Remember: What you appreciate, appreciates. Who did you thank today?

Ultimately, becoming more invokable is about achieving mindshare, not marketshare.

Start executing these strategies regularly. Find the ones that work best for your business model. And I promise your invokability will start to build PROFIT-ability.

Then maybe you can FINALLY finish that Scott Ginsberg shrine you’ve been working so hard on.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How invokable is your name?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

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Does Your Business Pass the Brokeback Mountain Test?

“I can’t quit you!”

Remember when Heath Ledger said that to Jake Gyllenhall in Brokeback Mountain?

Whatever. Don’t act like you didn’t love that movie.

Because that’s exactly what you want: Customers who can’t quit you.

HERE’S WHY: If you can get to that point, you no longer have customers. You have fans. And they’re lightyears beyond “satisfied” or “loyal.”

They’re INSISTENT.

SO, HERE’S THE SECRET: If you want to make it impossible for people to quit you, you’ve got to become addictable.

Does your business pass the Brokeback Mountain Test? Here are six action items to boost your addictability today.

1. Start with yourself. Think of the five websites you’re currently addicted to. Why are they so addictive? How did you become addicted to them? And what still brings you back every day? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business. You’ll become more addictable immediately. Where do you get YOUR fix?

2. Update content regularly. Websites are like newspapers – nobody wants to read them if they’re two years old. Whether it’s videos, pictures, music, articles or recipes, your need new content regularly. For example, I receive emails about once a week from viewers of NametagTV that write, “I think I’ve watched every video you have!”

And I think to myself, “Awesome. Thank you. Glad you liked them. There’s more where that came from…” Remember: Familiar structures lead to mental laziness. As a result, people’s brains filter out unchanging backgrounds because, in their minds, there’s no need to pay attention. When was the last time you refreshed YOUR content? Is your website a dinosaur?

3. Have more depth. Don’t just post a few videos or pictures and call it a day. Have dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. The more the better. The goal is to gently and respectfully suck people into your vortex of content so they lose track of time. Think Vegas. Think Casinos. “No windows, no clocks.” Minus the mobsters, of course.

I’m reminded of this strategy when I receive emails DAILY from readers of this blog that write, “I just spent the last hour reading a month’s worth of articles!” And I think to myself with a slight Mr. Burns accent, “Exxxxxcellent.” Remember: Less isn’t more – more is more. When was the last time someone told you, “I just spend the last two hours on your site!”

4. Be a destination, not a website. A “website” is not going to get people to come TO, hang out AT and tell their friends ABOUT anything. It needs to be much more than just information. It needs to be interactive. It needs to be participative. It needs to be updated regularly.

It needs to be THEE source, THEE go-to-place, the El Dorado, The Mecca … for a certain kind of people who want a certain kind of thing. In short: A destination. Websites are so 2005. Why would someone come to (and stay at) your website for more than 60 seconds?

5. Make passion palpable. The more your website (destination) revolves around passion, the easier it is for you to win. And the easier it is for your visitors to win. The challenge is creating an interactive environment where health participation naturally emerges. An environment that enables, supports and rewards authentic dialogue.

That’s the best part. If you create the right kind of environment, the right atmosphere, the right space and the right energy, the people inside of it will take care of themselves. How many of your customers are talking to each other?

6. Addictable comes from Obsessable. The word “obsess” comes from the Latin obsidere, which means, “to occupy.” Hmm. Interesting. I wonder if all this blather about “website hits” is a misnomer. Maybe “hits” don’t mean anything. Maybe “hits” is an acronym for “How Idiots Track Sales.”

Perhaps what’s more important is how LONG people stay on your site, if they come BACK regularly, and if they’re the RIGHT people. To quote Seth Godin from Meatball Sundae, “How many eyeballs isn’t as important as whose eyeballs.” How could being obsessable help you become more addictable?

REMEMBER: The easiest way to make yourself more addictable is to make customers say, “I can’t quit you!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Does your business pass the Brokeback Mountain test?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

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4 Secrets to Retain Relevancy So Customers Don’t Get Bored with You and Buy from Someone Else

As an author, used book fairs are my candy store.

The price is insanely cheap.
The selection is overwhelming.
The smell is mildewy and wonderful.

Is there a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?

I think not.

Recently, I stopped by the 31st annual St. Louis YMCA Book Fair to stock up on fall reading. And I’m excited to report that I DID NOT find one of my own books for a dollar like I did last year. That was terribly depressing.

What I did notice, however, was that certain books had titles that were so incredibly irrelevant, outdated and poorly chosen, they actually made me laugh out loud. For example:

• Is Stalinism Dead? The Future of Perestroika as a Moral Revolution
• The Omega Strategy: How You Can Retire Rich by 1986
• Start Your Own Mail Order Business
• How to Make $25,000 a Year Publishing Newsletters
• Mastering Pacman: Tripling Your Score on the Game that’s Sweeping the Nation!

By the way, I just finished reading that last book, and am now convinced that I could pretty much annihilate ANYBODY in Pacman.

But I digress.

HERE’S THE POINT: These titles are irrelevant. Inconsequential. Obsolete. Valueless.

And as such, they’re unbuyable, unrelatable and unreadable.

SO, HERE’S THE QUESTION: How much profitability are YOU sacrificing by being irrelevant?

For many individuals and organizations, the answer is “too much.”

So, today we’re going to learn four strategies for retaining relevancy:

1. Publish a steady stream of solid content. You need to be the generator. The source. The origin. The distributor. Now, everything you put out there doesn’t have to be amazing. But if you want to be amazing, you’ve got to put everything out there.

So, here’s the secret: Send a continuous flow of education. Don’t come off as someone who has a sense of scarcity. Whether you leverage RSS, social media, podcasts or ezines, never stop publishing.

Because if you’re viewed as a broker of intelligence and wisdom; an aggregator of valuable content that’s light on the self-promotion and heavy on the actionable practices, your ideas WILL become compulsively readable (or listenable!)

What’s more, as explained in the book Value Forward Marketing by Paul DiModica, “Use Thought Leadership devices that force people to become educated and subliminally teach them how to buy and what to buy from you.”

RELEVANCY REMINDER: Consistently deploy enduring content BY you, and it will become less threatening to do business WITH you. What did you publish today?

2. Implement a system for staying constantly relevant. Consider these questions to help design yours:

a. Where are you customers hanging out? Go there!
b. How healthy is your media diet? Cut out the crap!
c. How responsive are you to “requestions”? Answer them!
d. What terms are your customers searching for? Google them!
e. How are you upgrading your qualifications? Recertify them!
f. Are you dedicated to life-long learning? Rededicate yourself!
g. What publications are your customers reading? Subscribe to them!
h. When was the last time you got new headshots taken? Shoot them!
i. What three industry blogs are you reading weekly? Bookmark them!
j. How many networking events have you attended this week? Sign up!
k. What market opportunities do you need to respond to? Leverage them!
l. How frequently are you updating your online profiles/statuses? Write them!
m. How many of your customers have you taken to lunch this month? Invite them!
n. How often are you asking your customers to help make your business better? Ask them!

RELEVANCY REMINDER: Riches come from relevant, which comes from current. So, no current = No curren-CY. What’s your relevancy system?

3. Build your listening platform. No matter what title is printed on your business card, you work in the problem solving business. Period. So, here’s most effective strategy for understanding which real, expensive, urgent, relevant pervasive problems you need to solve: LISTEN.

Listen everywhere. Use every listening post you can find. Consider how people are reacting to your current thinking. Listen to what your customers aren’t telling you. When you really listen, people WILL describe their truths about you. And those truths will be the key to retaining relevancy in their eyes.

So, whether you use social media, Google alerts, informal surveys, online evaluations, interviews, user conferences, 360 feedback reports, refuse to be anywhere that doesn’t allow you to listen and learn.

RELEVANCY REMINDER: Schedule a listening occasion. Listen very carefully to what people tell you they remember about you. What will building a listening platform earn you the right to do?

4. Discard the inconsequential. In 1997, Scott Adams published The Dilbert Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Century. Aside from being hysterical, the book also made several predictions that (actually) came true. For example:

“In the future, more people will actively ignore the news because it is irrelevant.”

Wow. Adams couldn’t be more right. Especially when stations like CNN and Fox News continuously air hour-long discussions on inconsequential drivel like “Barack and Michelle’s Date to the Opera” and “Brittney’s Bodyguard Calls it Quits.”

Who. The Hell. Cares.

Answer: Nobody. And that’s why nobody’s watching. So, my question for you is: Do people care about what YOU’RE saying? Are YOUR ideas inconsequential? If so, expect your customers and employees to tune you out instantly.

RELEVANCY REMINDER: Learn the questions to identify and appeal to anyone’s self-interest. Do people wish they could fast-forward your conversations?

In summary, we turn to Marc Ecko, billionaire creator of Ecko Unlimited Clothing, who said:

“You stay relevant by being conscious and not over-intellectualizing things. The biggest trap for creative types is the moment they start becoming introspective it paralyzes them. You can’t operate from a position of fear of irrelevance. You have to operate from a position of strength and confidence.”

REMEMBER: Retaining relevancy isn’t about being a chameleon; but rather, it’s about consciously evolving towards a future you’re both the creator OF and the participator IN.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start training for my upcoming Pacman tournament.

Blinky doesn’t stand a chance.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How much profitability are YOU sacrificing by being irrelevant?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “6 Ways to Out POSITION Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Who’s quoting YOU?

Check out Scott’s Online Quotation Database for a bite-sized education on branding success!

www.stuffscottsaid.com.

11 Questions to Determine if Your Passion Will become Profitable

“Passionate” doesn’t (necessarily) mean “profitable.”

Passion isn’t a panacea.

This is a common entrepreneurial mistake.

People think that just because they’ve pinpointed their passion – POOF! – They can now magically make a business out of it.

Wrong.

Entrepreneurship isn’t a Beatles song. Passion (or love, for that matter) isn’t all you need.

Passion only becomes profitable when it’s: (1) Enhanced by competence, (2) Entwined with purpose, and (3) Embraced by market demand.

Without achieving harmony between those three elements, your passion will remain a gorgeous (but dangerous) fire that ends up burning you AND everyone you touch.

Not to mention, you also end up annoying the bejesus out of people with your misguided inconsequentiality.

That’s a misfire you and your business can’t afford to make.

In order to prevent that from happening, I invite you to (honestly) ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you passionately incompetent?
• Are you confusing passion with talent and ability?
• How much do you know about running a business?
• Is your passion cool, but irrelevant to the marketplace?
• Is your passion inherently interesting, but difficult to sell?
• Is your passion intrinsically appealing, but something you suck at?
• Will the thrill of your passion dissipate once it becomes a daily task?
• Are you wasting your passion on people who don’t appreciate or deserve it?
• Are there at least ten other people out there who are successfully making money from a passion similar to yours?
• Do you really know how to run a bakery, or do you just like to cook because people always tell you they enjoy your cupcakes?
• If you DID end up making a business out of your passion, how long before you start to feel robbed of your true talent because you’re wasting most of your time and energy on menial, soul-sucking activities that have nothing to do with your passion?

Not to be Debby Downer or anything.

But somebody’s got to say it.

REMEMBER: Passion without competence is nothing but misguided energy; passion without purpose is nothing but chaotic fire; and passion without a viable market is nothing but a hobby.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Will your passion become profit?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “86 Passion-Finding Questions to Invite Someone to Talk about What They Love,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Download a free copy of The Nametag Guy’s (unofficial) 9th book!

HELLO, my name is Scott’s…
“Live your name.”

13 Strategies for Creating an Aura of Superiority around Your Brand – Without Looking Like an Arrogant Ass

The word “superior” comes from the Latin superus, which means, “situated above.”

So, for your brand to be superior, you don’t have to be arrogant – you just have to be awesome. Plus, a lot of people have to agree with you. That’s the formula.

What about you? How do you demonstrate superior expertise? And are you turning out work that has a genuine superiority?

If not, today you’re going to learn a list of thirteen strategies for creating an aura of superiority around your brand – without looking like an arrogant ass:

1. Adopt a preeminent mindset. This is the first step in building awareness and exposure to become the default in your space. Mohammad Ali is the perfect reminder. Four words: “I am the greatest.” He said this phrase often enough that (not only) did he convince himself that he was the greatest, but he convinced the world he was the greatest too.

Now, certainly Ali was able to support his assertion with unparalleled fighting skill. He really DID float like a butterfly. He really DID sting like a bee. The question is: If Ali never declared that he was the greatest over and over, would he (still) have become the greatest?

Doubtful. Similarly, if you don’t believe in your own preeminence – in a non-arrogant way – nobody else will either. What are you the world heavyweight champion of?

2. Repeatedly articulate your EST. That’s not an acronym; it’s a suffix. As in: Craziest. Dizziest. Fanciest. Gutsiest. Heaviest. Juiciest. Knottiest. Laziest. Purest. Quietest. Rarest. Got it? Essentially, EST is a stronger, more specific version of the superlative best. And customers can’t help but be attracted to that. Your challenge is to answer the following three questions:

*What’s the ONE THING your company does that nobody else can touch?
*How could you reframe, repurpose or reposition that uniqueness in the form of an EST?
*How many different ways could you leverage that EST in your marketing so you become KNOWN for it?

Remember: Everyone possesses inherent, unique superiority, but not everyone articulates it. How much longer can you continue winking in the dark?

3. Be a recognized innovator. That means you have to be the FIRST at something. Doesn’t matter what it is. As long as it’s relevant and you did it before anybody else. Example: Do you think anyone remembers the second woman to fly across the Atlantic?

Nope. Earhart was the recognized innovator. Everyone else fell to the wayside. Therefore: Your mission is to become the first to do, say or be SOMETHING. What are you recognized as being the FIRST at?

4. Be a shortcut. In Scott Halford’s awesome book of the same name, he wrote, “If you’re not a shortcut, you’re taking up too much space.” Great point. Your challenge is to answer these three questions:

*What are you a shortcut for?
*What are you a shortcut to?
*For whom are you that shortcut?

Remember: We live in a fast paced, instant gratification, A.D.D. hyperspeed culture. Be quicker or be deader. Which one are you?

5. Be a statement of action. The simplest solution for solidifying a position of superiority is to just DO stuff. Every day. Action is the engine of credibility, the conduit of character and the stamp of superiority.

That’s the difference: Creating an aura of inferiority is nothing but a landfill of idea CREATION. Creating an aura of superiority is a like trophy case of idea EXECUTION. The choice is yours. Will you talk or DO?

6. Be proprietary. “Spend a lot of money making it yours. Otherwise you become a victim,” remarked bestselling author Jeffrey Gitomer. “You can’t trust your business to someone who might not BE in business.”

Good advice. Remember: The moment you use something that anybody could use, you are no longer unique. What percentage of the technology you’re using is YOURS?

7. Be the first, not the best. If people don’t think of your name first, they may never get a chance to see if you really are the best. That’s the reality of Google, and it might be hurting your business. In the words of the wise philosopher, Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”

Now, obviously if you recall Talladega Nights, you know that mantra is clearly insane.

Or is it? After all, when presented with an infinite amount of choices, customers are just going to pick the best. Which, on Google means “the first.” So maybe Ricky was right. Maybe creating an aura of superiority starts with a little shake and bake. What are you recognized as being the first at?

8. Convince people that you’re doing something important. In the world of fundraising, here’s the big secret: Stop asking for money and start making such a passionate, compelling case, that people ask for the opportunity to contribute to your cause. See? That’s the difference between selling and enabling people to buy. Which one are YOU doing?

9. Don’t be smart – be an intellectual. Here’s the difference: Smart is for students who study content for the purpose of memorization. Which means information comes in one ear and out the other.

Intellectuals are people who absorb ideas for the purpose of democratization. Which means people are extracting truth and redelivering it in a way that’s applicable and actionable across the board.

That’s why intellectuals are superior – because anyone can be smart. Which word would your customers use to describe you?

10. Go name something. In Seth Godin’s The Big Moo, he explains, “Isaac Newton created a word that described something that was already there, something that affected everyone, all the time. By naming gravity, he gave us power over it. He gave us a handle, which permitted both scientists and lay people to talk about and interact with this mysterious force.”

Lesson learned: When you name something, you can gain power over that something. You can do something about that something. You can get people to talk about that something. And you can become the superior voice on that something. Me? I started wearing a nametag everyday and ended up naming approachability. What could you make into a household word?

11. Position yourself as an aggregator of valuable content. Nobody wants to sift through the entire forty-seven-year catalog of The Rolling Stones’ library. They just want to buy Forty Licks and get on with their life. The cool part is: YOU could be that album. You could be the summary. The chronicle. The Cliffs notes. People will think you’re a genius. All because you aggregated.

The secret is learning to see to the heart of the matter quickly. Then, making the effort to uncover the essence of a system, distilling it and then deploying it to people in a simple, actionable way. Do this, and I promise your customers will LOVE this for three simple reasons: They’re busy, they’re lazy and they’re impatient. Thank God for your superior content aggregation. Are you a broker of information and wisdom?

12. Three words: And nowhere else. That means your company is The Only. The One. The unsurpassed stop. THEE go-to place. Fortunately, you may have already accomplished this. Here’s the test. Imagine a new customer calls tomorrow morning. He needs your help bad.

The question is: Has your company earned the right to say, “Mr. Jackson, you didn’t just come to the RIGHT place – you came to the ONLY place”? If so, congrats. You’ve passed the “And Nowhere Else Test.” If not, it’s time to get moving on deploying your matchlessness. What industry or niche are you the standard-bearer of?

13. Raise your thought frequency. Ultimately, that’s what drives your ability to engineer a continuous flow of superior breakthroughs. The cool part is, when you become known as an elegant thinker, people will pay money to watch you do it in action. Better yet, they will bring their friends with them.

As advertising legend Joey Riemann explained in his book, Thinking for a Living, ““Profits go to the prophets. Big thinkers are the most valuable human beings on Earth. And grey matter is real estate –what grows out of it will be your net worth.” How much is seeing the light worth to a company or person in the dark?

REMEMBER: It IS possible to become clearly superior – and to PRESERVE your superiority – without looking like an arrogant ass.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How will you create an aura of superiority around your brand?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “12 Dangerous Doozies to Avoid in 2009,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

Buy Scott’s comprehensive marketing guidebook on Amazon.com and learn how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business!

8 Ways to become More Buyable than a Bottle of Viagra at a Boca Raton Bingo Hall

“I just cannot WAIT to send you a check!”

How cool would it be if your customers thought that? How profitable would it be if your customers SAID that?

Very.

And the best part is, this concept has nothing to do with selling; but rather, enabling people to buy.

IN SHORT: Being buyable.

AND HERE’S THE DISTINCTION: Most salespeople constantly run around asking prospects, “Do you want to buy me?”

On the other hand, buyable salespeople don’t run – they position. And they do so in a value-driven, unique role so prospects say to them, “We want to buy you!”

MY QUESTION IS: How’s your buyability?

Not strong enough? Not a problem. Let’s explore a list of eight strategies for becoming more buyable than a bottle of Viagra at a bingo hall.

1. Migrate fans into paying customers. In order to do so, you MUST deliver unique value first. Ideally: Meaningful, concrete and immediate answers that will help your customers grow their business – delivered via email, blogging, a public presentation or an in-person meeting.

And, yes, this migration process may take months, even years. The question you have to ask yourself is: What are you willing to LOSE on the first sale in order to guarantee a relationship? Time? Lunch? Money? Free samples? A few hundred bucks?

It might be worth it. Start building your migration strategy today. How long will it take to turn strangers into friends, friends into fans and fans into paying customers?

2. Try your customer’s head on. First, ask yourself: “If I were my customer, what would I want to buy from me next?” Second, ask your customers, “What new offering would you LOVE to see from me that I don’t currently offer?”

Example: I recently asked that very question to the 20,000 subscribers of HELLO, my name is Ezine. I also offered a free book to whomever offered the best most helpful suggestion. Sure enough, heaps of emails came in. My customers’ feedback was priceless. I even modified one of my future programs accordingly.

Lesson learned: Your customers will tell you how to sell to them. Remember what sales legend Jeffrey Gitomer reminds us, “People hate to be sold, but they love to buy.” Are you giving your customers permission to tell you how to serve them better?

3. More isn’t more. All you can eat buffets are great for heart disease, but ghastly for business. Here’s why: Choice saturation paralyzes people into inaction. And confused minds never buy. Conversely, the less you offer, the easier it is for people to refer TO and FROM you.

Not to mention, when you remove choices, you also remove the threat of rejection. Your mission is to arrange things so that selling is easy. And the first step to doing so is simple: Offer less.

In Seth Godin’s very short ebook, Do Less, he writes: “By not cluttering your life and reputation with a string of low-budget process, you actually increase your chances of getting great projects in the future.” What if you stopped giving customers so many choices, or any choice at all?

4. Reopen the wound. Here’s the reality: If there’s nothing bleeding, customers won’t think they need you. This doesn’t mean you should act like an evil pharmaceutical company that manufactures bogus diseases so they can push pills (ahem, Restless Leg Syndrome).

Rather, your job is to serve as a reminder. As if to say to your customers, “I think you’re forgetting that you have this problem, and it hasn’t gone away. So, if you want to eliminate it, you need to call me.” It’s all about framing. Presenting offerings in a way where resistance is impossible. Helping them WANT it. What were you designed to cure?

5. Keep asking: What’s next? According to the owner of Honest Selling and the founder of Yellow Tie International, Gil Wagner, “These are the two strongest words for maintaining control of the buying conversation.”

I agree. Especially on email. Especially when you’ve done your part and you’re waiting for the prospect to make a move. Instead of appearing too pushy, all you have to do is ask, “What’s next?” Period. End of email. You’ll find that it’s is a conversation-advancer, a time-saver and an action-oriented request that demonstrates your willingness to cut to the chase and move forward.

I’ve been using it almost daily since 2005, and I’m constantly amazed how (a) how many sales I’ve closed because of it, and (2) how much customers appreciate it. Remember: The listener controls. Are you asking simple, yet powerful questions to become more buyable?

6. People sell – products don’t. People buy people first. Period. So, if you notice a lack of buyability, realize that customers aren’t resisting the product – they are resisting you. Conversely, buyable people (and businesses) are the ones customers think, “Dude, we would be nuts NOT to hire this guy!” How could you become more irresistible?

7. Become a known-entity. The best way to do so is to achieve what I call “Radar Equity.” And it begins by asking yourself five few questions:

a. Whose radar do I want to be on?
b. What do I want to happen as a result of being on it?
c. Who do I know that is already on that radar?
d. What steps have they taken to get there?
e. What actions could I take to emulate those steps?

8. Put yourself in their future. “I’m going to be happier at the end of this transaction because I gave you money.” This is what your prospects need to think. So, the first step toward reaching that future is to activate mental ownership. And you do this by helping the customers visualize the END.

The benefit of the benefit of the benefit of the benefit. The customers of the customers. Not just a mowed lawn – their kids and dogs playing in the freshly cut grass. Not just a rental car – their feeling of getting the hell out of the airport quickly. How are you traveling through time to put yourself in your customer’s future?

REMEMBER: Selling is for amateurs – enabling people to buy is the secret.

Ultimately, buyability is about creating a value-forward relationship within the client environment.

Do that, and they might actually become excited about sending you a check.

Then you can buy all the Viagra you want!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you boosting your buyability?

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For the list called, “134 Questions Every Salesperson Should Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

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5 Ways to Make Your Business a Friend of Simplicity

Chopin once remarked, “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”

Bravo!

What about you? Is your business a friend of simplicity?

If it’s not, you’re losing money. Every day. And here’s why:

Simplicity is currency. Especially since we live in hyperspeed, A.D.D., instant gratification culture.

Simplicity is approachability. Because: Complexity = Conflict = Avoidance.

Simplicity is eloquence. Because it’s more listenable, more readable and more digestible.

Simplicity is elegance. Think Oscar Night. Think Joan Rivers: “Who are you wearing?” Which fashions usually win?

Simplicity is sophistication. That was Da Vinici’s philosophy. That simple was nothing but complex in disguise.

BUT, HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: Simplicity is hard. It requires more energy, more brainpower and more courage that complexity.

Seth Godin talked about this idea during a recent interview. He said, “Simplicity has an enemy: Fear. Fear demands places to hide, and simplicity can’t offer that.”

He’s right. Fear comes in the form of that little red shoulder devil, constantly whispering in your ear that complexity is the answer.

But it’s not. Simple is.

So, I invite you to explore these five practices for making your business a better friend of simplicity:

1. STOP being fancy. Trying to appeal to everyone inevitably fails. Simplicity, on the other hand, is a fashion that never goes out of style. Fight for every inch of it.

2. STOP creating riddles that take too long for impatient customers to solve. As your company implements its simplicity strategy, ask yourself five questions:

a. Is this idea simple enough that a kindergartner could understand it?
b. Can this idea be explained in less than ten seconds using less than ten words?
c. How easy will it be for people to repeat this?
d. How much more could you distill the essence of this concept?
e. What three things could be done immediately to make this simpler?

3. STOP rejecting simple. Simplicity isn’t crushing the complicated – it’s eliminating the extraneous. So, start eliminating the unnecessary so the necessary can speak. People will listen.

4. STOP making things bigger than they need to be. Be courageous enough to go with something simple and focused. Your message will have the best chance of getting through (and sticking TO) people.

5. STOP complicating your message. It’s like admitting to your customers that you haven’t reflected upon or extended concern for them. Simplicity, on the other hand, helps customers feel in control.

Ultimately, simplicity IS a valid business strategy.

JUST REMEMBER: The world is loud. People are busy. And they don’t care about you.

Disengage the essential, or live with being ignored.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Is your business a friend of simplicity?

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For the list called, “11 Ways to Out MARKET Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

5 Ways be a Boss Employees Don’t Want to Beat with a Stapler

Almost everyone has had a boss they hated.

But not everyone has BEEN the boss that employees hated.

If you’re one of the lucky ones, consider these five practices to make sure you stay that way:

1. Bridge the distance. Open door policies are useless if your heart, mind and ears aren’t open too. That’s the difference between being “approachable” and “accessible.” One is about physical space; the other is about personal being. How are you reducing the distance?

2. Calm the furious. As long as you don’t tell them to “try and calm down.” That only ignites someone’s reactivity. Instead, try saying nothing. Try monopolizing the listening. Perhaps their emotional engine will run out of steam. What could you say to this person that would make things worse?

3. Hear the hesitation. It’s a sign of declining receptivity, and you need to do something about it. Suggestions: Listen first. Preserve people’s self-esteem. Lower emotional reactivity. Publicly celebrate mistakes. Make communication a relaxing experience. How will you become more listenable?

4. Identify the disconnect. Listen for gaps. Then ask people if they noticed them too. What are you listening for?

5. Recognize the resistance. Do what you can to increase receptivity and get this person back on your side. Fill people’s emotional bank account with trustable moments. How are you making them feel essential?

REMEMBER: People quit people – not companies.

Don’t let it happen to you.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my anal retentive, obsessive-compulsive boss is on my back. I gotta go.

Oh wait. I’m self-employed.

Woops.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you increasing your askability?

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For the list called, “79 Questions Every Manager Needs to Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Do you have character, or are you just a caricature?

Character is the congruency between your values and your verbs.

And that’s not all.

Character is the great catchall. Because when you leverage it, everything else falls into place.

Character trumps technique. Because when you practice it, formulas and systems become useless.

Character wins ballgames. Because when you lead off with it, you always run up the score.

Character makes money. Because when you invest in it, you exponentialize your assets.

Interestingly, the word “character” derives from the Greek kharakter, which means, “The engraved mark.”

Hmm. I wonder what mark YOU’RE leaving on people. Talk about approachable!

OK. Let’s talk about that other word.

Caricature is the exaggerated, unsuccessful version of yourself.

You know, the one you broadcast to the world when you’re trying to prove yourself to people you don’t even like? Yes, that one.

And that’s not all.

Caricatures are performances. And that disingenuous state of being is NOT the way you want people to experience you.

Caricatures are masks. And eventually, people will wonder who you (really) are in unguarded moments.

Caricatures are manufactured. And that translates into a continual process of having to remember who you are.

Caricatures are a lot of work. And after a while, you’re going to realize that putting on an act is exhausting.

Caricatures are one-dimensional. And with such a limited worldview, you mar your ability to relate to others in a healthy way.

Interestingly, the word “caricature” comes from the Italian caricatura, which means, “satirical picture.”

Hmm. I wonder if people see YOU as a walking joke. Not so approachable.

Either way: Have character, or be a caricature.

The choice is yours.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you engraving your mark or satirically overloading people?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “37 Personal Leadership Questions Guaranteed to Shake Your Soul,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

9 Ways to Make Your Business More Findable than a Smile at a Nudist Colony

Marketing is simple:

Create a product that customers can stumble upon, obsess over, fall in love with, become addicted to and tell their friends about.

Fine. But HOW?

Well, if you want customers to stumble upon you, you need to become more findable.

Here are ten strategies to boost your findability:

1. Definition. Peter Morville is the father of findability. He first defined the term in 2005 in his book Ambient Findability, as “The ability of users to identify an appropriate website and navigate the pages of the site to discover and retrieve relevant information resources.”

Ease and comfort. That’s the secret. And, being findable isn’t just limited to online. When I emailed Peter for a more recent quotation on the topic, his answer blew me away:

“For every company that’s been flushing money down the toilet – by sending radio messages to people on iPods, sending TV messages to people zapping by TiVo, placing ads in death-spiral newspapers, running ads in Yellow Pages that nobody under 70 uses – it’s about time to reconsider the budgets for outbound messages versus making yourself findable by real people in the real world.”

Relevancy and realness. There’s your next secret. And that’s only the beginning.

FIND OUT: Are you winking in the dark?

2. Purpose. “The fundamental goal of findability is to persistently connect your audience with the stuff you write, design, and build,” explained author and blogger Aaron Walter from A List Apart Magazine. So, by persistent he means constantly showing up on people’s radars. By connect he means making your company the conduit. And by audience he means customers, readers, viewers or whomever comprises your constituency.

Walter also wrote, “When you create relevant and valuable content, presented in a machine readable format, and provide tools that facilitate content exchange and portability, you’ll help ensure that the folks you’re trying to reach get your message.”

There’s that word again: Relevancy. I hope you’re noticing a trend.

FIND OUT: What content do you want to become known for?

3. Motive. Here’s the deal: People go to Google for one reason: Pornography. And second, to solve a problem. Your mission is to figure out what your customers are SICK of doing, position your expertise as the key to NEVER doing that again, then make it easy and quick to find. So, take some time to think: What problem do you solve? What is your business the answer to? What is your business the shortcut for?

Find the answers to those questions and the right people will find YOU.

FIND OUT: When someone googles your name, what do you want to happen?

4. Survey yourself. Speaking of solving problems: How did YOU “find” the last five websites, stores, restaurants, products or businesspeople that you absolutely fell in love with? What were the exact steps that took you to those sites? And how did those businesses solve your problem? I challenge you to make a list, extract the commonalities of findability and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

You might be shocked at how findable (or not findable) you already are.

FIND OUT: How do YOU usually find things?

5. Take every interview. As a small business owner myself, the biggest contributing factor to my findability (aside from writing) are the 500+ interviews I’ve done since 2002. From major media appearances on The Today Show, CNN and 20/20, to expert opinion pieces published in WSJ, COSMO, FastCompany & Investor’s Business Daily, to more casual interviews with niche bloggers and podcasters, the point is: Interviews are highly findable. Period. What’s more, interviews position you in a thought leadership role. That way, when people DO find you – you’re perceived as the expert.

My suggestion: Take every single one of them. It doesn’t matter if it’s USA Today, some blogger in Taiwan or a local high school journalism class. If somebody wants to interview you, your answer is, “What time is good for you?”

Interviews lead to more interviews. Interviews get traffic. Interviews are great practice talking about your product. Interviews make you findable. (By the way, if you’re reading this and you’d like to interview me, send an email! I’m yours.)

FIND OUT: How many interviews have you turned down because the publication didn’t have the words, “New York Times” in the title?

6. Divorce your ego. Heather Lutze, author of The Findability Formula, says the key reason why businesspeople fail at findability is that they do not take ownership of how they want to be found, nor do they understand what buying customers are typing into the search engines when looking for that company’s product or service.

“Business owners often hold tight to a concept I call Ego Keywords. These are the broad search terms owners get a physical rush over when thinking about seeing their name listed on the first page of that search results page, such as ‘television,’ ‘stationary,’ florist, etc. These terms get searched hundreds of thousands of times each month, and they get dizzy thinking about all that fantastic exposure.”

Lesson learned: You aren’t your customer. It doesn’t matter what YOU love; it matters what THEY’RE searching for. After all, you can’t spell “google” without “ego.”

FIND OUT: What’s standing in the way of YOUR findability?

7. Research. Speaking of keywords, meet Adam Kreitman. He’s a colleague of mine and the owner of the Internet marketing consultancy, Words That Click. Building off of Heather’s comment, Adam suggests we ask three questions to boost findability:

• Which search terms are the people you want to discover you typing into Google?
• How many people are typing them in each day?
• How many competitors would you be competing with if you targeted those keywords?

Sure, answering these questions will take some thought and some research, Adam says, but taking the time to do so is essential to making yourself more findable.

FIND OUT: What keywords are the tickets to overflowing with Google juice?

8. Nichify yourself. “If you’re a financial planner, it’s going to be tough to get people to discover your generic financial planning blog in the sea of generic financial planning blogs,” Adam warned.

“But, if you blog about small cap international stocks in limerick form, then you’re sure to stand alone.” So, he’s not suggesting becoming a poet. Rather, to think about whatever everyone who does what you do is already doing – then do the opposite. Remember: The more rules you are the exception to, the more findable you become.

FIND OUT: Are you a “same-old-lame-old” business?

9. Demonstrate to people that you’re worth being found. When Adam first offered me this suggestion, I nearly peed myself. What a concept! Be worthy of being found. Wow.

“The best strategy for accomplishing this is to push out a steady stream of original, quality, remarkable content. Make it worthwhile for people to overcome their ‘click inertia,’ visit your website, watch your video (and then, more importantly) come back for more.”

FIND OUT: Do you have something worth finding?

– – –

REMEMBER: Create a product that customers can stumble upon, obsess over, fall in love with, become addicted to and tell their friends about.

Make yourself more findable today.

Of course, that’s only the beginning.

Then you have to ask the bigger question: “What happens AFTER people find you?”

But that’s a different topic altogether.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you boosting your findability?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “101 Ways to Create a Powerful Web Presence,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!