Tag: totally random stuff

A few incomplete sentences that need revision

1. “If you build it, they will come.”

ORIGINATOR: Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams.

WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: because just building it is not enough. You’ve got to get people talking about it.

A BETTER VERSION: “If you build it consistently, remarkably and with unique value … they MIGHT come.”

REMEMBER: doing business without marketing is like winking in the dark.

2. “Positive thinking begets success.”

ORIGINATORS: The Bible, Normal Vincent Peale and James Allen

WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: because just thinking about is not enough. You’ve got to work your ass off too!

A BETTER VERSION: “Positive thinking PLUS positive doing equals success.”

REMEMBER: ideas are free, but execution is priceless.

3. “Think and grow rich!”

ORIGINATOR: Napoleon Hill.

WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: thinking without action is self-delusion.

A BETTER VERSION: “Think and ACT … and grow rich.”

REMEMBER: action is eloquence.

4. “What’s in a name?”

ORIGINATOR: Shakespeare.

WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: because you have more than just your name. You have your name PLUS what people say after it.

A BETTER VERSION: “What in AND after a name?”

REMEMBER: if you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you.

5. “Ask and you shall receive.”

ORIGINATOR: The Bible.

WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: the world isn’t an order form. Asking only gets you so far.

A BETTER VERSION: “Ask and ACT … and you shall receive.”

REMEMBER: never underestimate the power of working your ass off.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What famous quotations would you re-write?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Post your edits here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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Be clearly superior

Be clearly superior.

In other words: be the –est.

The finest.
The fastest.
The coolest.
The bestest.
The craziest.
The greatest.
The funniest.
The smartest.
The smoothest.
The friendliest.

Be the –est.

Be clearly superior.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your “-est”?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share it with us here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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Make a name for yourself here…

21 definitions of a customer

1. A customer is someone who has a need.

2. A customer is someone whom you deliver value to.

3. A customer is someone who uses what you produce.

4. A customer is someone who has a problem you can fix.

5. A customer is someone who benefits from what you do.

6. A customer is anyone with whom your business engages.

7. A customer is someone who buys your good and service.

8. A customer is someone who participates in your business.

9. A customer is someone who follows, listens to and obeys you.

10. A customer is someone who you depend on for your success.

11. A customer is someone who depends on your for her success.

12. A customer is someone whom you are dealing with right now.

13. A customer is someone you complete a sale or transaction for.

14. A customer is someone who admires or supports your business.

15. A customer is someone who seeks to benefit from your expertise.

16. A customer is someone who advances the cause of your organization.

17. A customer is someone who reads your blog or comes to your website.

18. A customer is someone who has a stake in your company or organization.

19. A customer is someone who can potentially create a perception of your
company.

20. A customer is someone who is affected by the decisions or actions of your
company.

21. A customer is someone who is connected to your organization and can enhance the value of its product and services.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your definition of a customer?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Post it here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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43 reasons to make lists for EVERYTHING

1. Lists are easy to read.

2. Lists are easy to write.

3. Lists are fun to write.

4. Lists are easier to memorize.

5. Lists are efficient ways to transfer value.

6. Lists force you to clarify your thoughts.

7. Lists beget shorter sentences, which get read FIRST.

8. Lists allow us to easily put information which belongs together in one place.

9. Lists give people who don’t like to organize a great way to organize.

10. Lists make it easy to expand and stretch your main idea.

11. Lists aren’t obsessed with order.

12. Lists make people happy. See, with the acceleration of our culture, when reading online, people don’t even read anymore. They scan.

13. The “architecture,” or creative design and page presentation of a list is easily digestible.

14. Lists “breathe” well. This is a term borrowed from the music world, referring to the space, time and breaths between notes. It’s easier on the ears, or in this case, easier on the eyes.

15. Listing is the simplest, quickest and most efficient way to capture your ideas before they fly away to But You Never Wrote Me Down Land.

16. Lists get pinged, WOW’ed, talked about, linked to, digged and blogged about.

17. Lists appeal to the hyperspeed, A.D.D and quick fix nature of our society.

18. Writing is the basis of all wealth. And listing is the easier form of writing. So, I guess you COULD say, “LISTING is the basis of all wealth.”

19. Lists, unlike the majority of the web’s content, aren’t laborious and annoying to read.

20. We live in The Attention Economy. You don’t REALLY think people are going read paragraph after paragraph after paragraph, do you?

21. Lists demonstrate value and content. For example, which sounds more valuable: “Advice for Small Business Owners,” or “79 Mistakes Made by Small Business Owners”?

22. As Julia Cameron said, “Writing teaches you something: that you never write just what you know. You write what you learn as you’re writing. Ideas come to you and trigger other ideas.”

23. So, lists don’t just benefit the reader. They benefit the writer too.

24. Listing stimulates creativity. Ideas connect with one another, crystallize and produce insights you never would have discovered by writing a five paragraph essay.

25. The human brain is a self-organizing machine. Listing subconsciously creates patterns, groups and “piles” of material that seem to come together on their own.

26. Did I already mention that writing is the basis of all wealth?

27. Which leads me to the next point: lists enable you to “call back” and reemphasize important points in a poignant, yet humorous way. (See #23 and #10)

28. LET ME ASK YA THIS: why are you reading this very list, right now? Did you see it on Digg? Did someone email you the link? Did the title entice you? Make a list of your answers. That will help you understand why lists work.

29. Lists don’t prioritize, segment, take sides or bias any one item; but rather allow you to simply get it all down on paper. And sometimes that’s the hardest part of writing. Because if you don’t write it down, it never happened.

30. Look at the most popular articles, blog posts and tagged stories on the Internet: all lists. Coincidence?

31. Lists help you examine your ideas, thoughts and problems visually in ways that other forms of writing architecture fall short.

32. Lists often force you to come up with an idea quotient. This is a perfect way to motivate your melon!

33. Lists are easy to reuse. You can break up certain items and expand on them in other modules.

34. Lists are really, really easy to print out and distribute to everyone in your office. And they’re conducive to sharing, i.e., “Hey Steve, check out this list of 31 ways to play jokes on your boss!”

35. WHICH REMINDS ME: if you want to see some of the best listers on the web, check out these examples by Gitomer, Godin, Peters and McLeod. (Also, if you want to read ALL of my lists, go here.)

36. Listing is for everybody. Because even if you’re not a good writer (or a writer at all) ANYONE can make a list!

37. Listing sifts through the bullshit. It gives people the guts, the meat, the good stuff, the essence and the cliff notes of your idea. Which is good, because most readers don’t have time (or care) to read anything else.

38. Speaking of readers, remember this: you can’t depend on your readers to connect the dots. Listing punches them in the face. In a friendly way.

39. Also, when you make a list, you don’t think – you react. And that’s when the best stuff usually comes out. Just like in the world of improv.

40. Lists are predictable. When someone sees a blog headline called, “17 lessons learned from this weekend’s bachelor party,” he knows exactly what to expect. And people like predictability because it leads to familiarity, which leads to trust.

41. Lists are edit-friendly. Following the “easy does it” approach to creativity, you can easily add an item or two to your list at your own discretion.

42. Lists are impervious to writer’s block. Because even if you can’t think of anything good to write, you always add an item or two to your list.

(And finally, the 43rd reason to deliver your content with lists…)

43. THINK ABOUT THIS: most of the major religions in the world were founded on lists: The Ten Commandments (Judaism/Christianity), The Five Pillars (Islam), The Four Noble Truths (Buddhism). Now, say what you want about religion. But billions of people have been living by, adhering to, spreading, rewriting and teaching lists for centuries. That’s gotta mean something.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Why do you make lists?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Post your list of reasons to make lists here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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…but you didn’t

The most common piece of criticism I receive is:

“Scott, wearing a nametag is not a unique idea. I could have done that!”

And I always respond with the same two comments.

Number one:

You know what? You’re right: you probably COULD have done that.

But you didn’t.

And number two:

You know what? You’re (also) right: wearing a nametag is not a unique idea.

But if you think this whole thing is about wearing a nametag, you’ve haven’t been listening.

Because it’s not about the idea – it’s how you leverage it.

See, ideas are free.

But execution is priceless.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your best quotation on leveraging?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share it here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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Make a name for yourself here…

Is your nametag too crowded?

“Hey Scott, why do you choose to wear the simple, hand-written, first-name-only nametags? Why not get something more customized and permanent?”

Well, I guess it HAS been a while since I riffed on nametags.

Over the years I’ve been asked this question SO many times that I have several answers:

1. It’s pure, human and friendly. And most importantly, it’s simple. Not to mention, you’re immediately on a first name basis … with everyone!

2. It’s enough. Sigmund Freud proved that a person’s name is the single context of human memory most forgotten. So, putting your first AND last name on the nametag is almost like asking someone to remember too much.

3. It eliminates preoccupations, conclusions and stereotypes. If your nametag indicates your last name, company name or job title, people are going to prejudge you based on this information. This may result in them NOT approaching you, i.e., if they were recently screwed over by someone from the same company or have had poor experiences with people who work in your field.

4. It’s self-disclosing. Writing ONLY your first name encourages an exchange of (minimal) person information and builds an instant connection. For example, in all the years of wearing my nametag, thousands of complete strangers have just come to me and instantly introduced themselves. Without asking. They just did it because of the norm of reciprocity inherent in interpersonal communication. Wow!

5. It limits the PSD’s, or Potential Silent Dialogues. If you see someone’s nametag that says nothing but “Jack,” the only assumption you can make is, “That guy’s name is Jack,” as opposed to, “He looks like a salesman, don’t go near him.” Associations and churches are notorious for screwing this up by indicating board positions, years of membership, etc. Dude, who cares? Why can’t we just connect as people, not as designations?

6. It puts the person first. Believe it or not, not everyone is defined by his job. And not everyone feels the need to ask, “So, what do YOU do?” ten seconds after meeting someone new. So, that’s the beauty of a plain, vague nametag: it leads with your person. Humanity before statistics. Values before vocation. Personality before position. WHO YOU ARE … before what you do and where you work.

7. It removes yourself as a threat. Nametags instantly and constantly reveal your personal information to everyone around you. This foregoes your anonymity. Which creates instant accountability for your actions. Which proves you’re comfortable in your own skin. Which immediately makes you less threatening to others. THINK ABOUT IT: would you mug somebody if you were wearing a nametag?

8. It detaches from outcomes. The simplicity of your nametag shows that you’re not goal oriented. You’re not selling, marketing or networking. You’re not attending a conference. You’re not trying to convert people. All you’re doing is giving yourself away. Sticking yourself out there. Making other people feel comfortable. That’s it.

FINAL POINT: I’ve been wearing a nametag 24-7 for the past 2,521 days. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people crave simplicity.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Is your nametag too crowded?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Next time you are required to wear a nametag, make it as simple, basic, pure and minimal as possible.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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Make a name for yourself here…

A few things I don’t believe in…

I don’t believe in MARKETING.
Sure, I do a lot of stuff that might be considered marketing: blogging, ezines, publicity and articles.

But to me, that’s not marketing.

That’s storytelling.
That’s sharing expertise with fans.
That’s positioning yourse as a resource.
That’s consistently and uniquely sticking yourself out there.

I don’t believe in BRANDING.
Sure, I do a lot of stuff that might be considered branding: answering the phone by saying, “HELLO, my name is Scott,” putting “The Nametag Guy” as my job title and getting my company logo literally branded on my chest.

But to me, that’s not branding.

That’s reputation.
That’s become more of yourself.
That’s articulating your uniqueness.
That’s reinforcing your personal philosophies.
That’s creating an expectation for your clients.

I don’t believe in SELLING.
Sure, I do a lot of stuff that might be considered selling: making phone calls, following up, emailing prospects and having conference calls.

But to me, that’s not selling.

That’s connecting.
That’s delivering value.
That’s being the Tylenol for people’s headaches.
That’s transferring passion and love for a product.

I don’t believe in NETWORKING.
Sure, I do a lot of stuff that might be considered networking: attending conferences, exchanging business cards and meeting people for coffee.

But to me, that’s not networking.

That’s making friends.
That’s brainstorming with like-minded people.
That’s connecting with someone new and developing a mutually valuable relationship

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you (not) believe in?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your (non) beliefs here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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Make a name for yourself here…

35 cultural trends that (should) change the way you do business

1. The Paradox of Choice. There are more choices than ever before – approaching infinite. So, people are just going to pick the best choice. Often times, it’s the first choice. Are you at the top of the list?

2. Time isn’t on your side. There are more thieves of time, attention and mental energy than ever before. You’re not the only important thing in your customers’ lives.

THINK ABOUT THIS: if you stopped advertising, would anybody even notice?

3. Nobody notices normal. Not any more. Now, this doesn’t mean there’s anything WRONG with being normal. However, positioning you, your business and your value as “normal” is like asking prospects to find a needle in a stack of needles.

REMEMBER: our society rewards the exceptional. And those who get noticed get remembered; and those who get remembered get business. Are you noticeable?

4. What? Huh? According to Wikipedia, the human attention span is about six seconds. Can you deliver value and pique someone’s interest in that window of time?

5. Our culture demands specialists. Being well rounded is overrated. More Narrow Focus = More Big Opportunities. Have you picked a lane yet?

6. Confusion. Most of the world does not understand what you do. The majority of service offerings are poorly defined. Plus, there’s a professional mystique to most job titles. So, don’t use jargon that alienates the public. Don’t give them a reason NOT to investigate your industry further. Are you using real, simple language?

7. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! People are bombarded every day with 3000+ marketing messages and are TIRED of being interrupted. Patience is at an all time low. And customers want music, not noise. Is your marketing interrupting or interacting?

8. It’s a GOTCHA! Culture. People just LOVE to prove others wrong, make them feel and look stupid and point out their inconsistencies. Are you maintaining consistency?

9. The limited window. According to The Wall Street Journal, first impressions are formed in about two seconds. As such, the only thing people can really make judgments about is how you made them feel in those few seconds.

QUESTION: Are you doing everything you possibly can to make this person feel comfortable engaging with you?

10. WOM Wins. Businesses grow because customers tell other customers. Who’s talking about you? And how are you monitoring that?

11. Hurry up! People like brands because they are decision-making shortcuts. What shortcut do you provide?

12. Be the first. The world is competitive, and customers can only pick one. So, people are most likely going to pick the best. What are you the first hit on Google for?

13. Unique, not different. The world is CRYING for uniqueness.

NOTE: that’s not the same thing as being “different.” Different means “to stand out” and unique means “the only one.” Are you the echo or the origin?

14. Perception is reality. It doesn’t matter if you’re the expert; it matters if you’re the PERCEIVED expert. Perception is reality. You need to be the answer to something. What topic are you the go-to-guy for?

15. How do you like me? People either check you on, or check you off. Quickly. And they usually maintain those initial impressions because of an innate desire to maintain consistency with one’s actions.

ASK YOURSELF: Are you non-checkoffable?

16. Don’t sell; enable people to buy. Don’t count on your audience to connect the dots. Grab them by the shirt collar, pull ‘em in close and DELIVER-YOUR-UNIQUE-VALUE. Are you making it really, really obvious?

17. Smarty pants. Because people have access to more information than ever before, customers are smarter than before. How many books did YOU read last year?

18. Transparency is a must. Because of the mass media’s broadcast of corporate scandals, trust is at an all time low, and bullshit meters are at an all time high. Only the authentic survive. And you need to create greater trust on both sides of the sale.

DUDE: What have you done (specifically) in the past 24 hours to enhance your credibility?

19. Preoccupation. Customers need you to give them reasons why they won’t regret purchasing this later. Reinforce their buying decisions right away. How are you disarming buyer’s remorse?

20. Don’t please everybody. No matter what happens, about 10% of the people in the world aren’t going to like you or your ideas. Don’t sweat it. Forget about the 10; stick with the 90. If everybody loves your brand, you’re doing something wrong. Are you polarizing people enough?

21. The Working Hard Myth. People only give you credit for about 10% of the work you do, because 90% of it is never seen. How good is your 90?

22. It’s a MY Culture. Because of the exponential growth of Internet, humans now have instant access to infinite amounts of information. This creates a hyperspeed, infinite-choice society where customers are going to get WHAT they want, WHEN and HOW they want it.

REVERSE YOUR MARKETING: don’t aim; be aimed at.

23. It’s an Eggshell Culture. People are terrified of offending others. We live in a touchy, oversensitive culture resting on the shoulders of a million eggshells. Are you apologizing when you did nothing wrong?

24. Clients need to know they’re getting YOU. Because they don’t trust corporations, they trust PEOPLE. Tangibility, not magnitude. How well do your customers know YOU?

25. Customers crave simplicity. That’s it.

26. Customers are impatient. And they want the best. The ONE. The Guy. The Man. Are you That Guy?

27. Enabling people to buy. Customers are only going to do business with you if they’ve heard you, heard OF you, or someone they TRUST has heard of you. Who’s heard of you?

28. We live in a culture of sales resistance. Consumers are skeptical and require confidence before deciding to buy. They’ve been advertised to, marketed to, duped, fooled, conned, scammed, sold and screwed over too many times. How are you any different than every other salesperson out there?

29. Loyalty is a joke. And here’s why: big companies don’t realize that people aren’t loyal to big companies! They’re loyal to people. Not to mention, it’s not about satisfaction or even loyalty anymore. Those are par for the course. Do customers INSIST on you?

30. Prospects rely on familiarity. Which is good, because familiarity leads to predictability. Predictability leads to trust. And TRUST is foundation of all business. Are you somewhat predictable?

31. IF they want you, they’ll find you. What happens when someone googles YOUR name?

32. Who are you, anyway? People don’t want to hire consultants, speakers, trainers or recruiters. They want to hire smart, cool people who happen to consult. Or speak. Or train. Or recruit. Or whatever. Are you smart and cool?

33. People buy people first. Which means: lead with your person; follow with your profession. Values before vocation. Individuality before industry. Humanity before statistics. Personality before position.

WHICH MEANS: if customers like you, they’ll find a way to buy from you. If customers don’t like you, they’ll find a way NOT to buy from you too.

SO REMEMBER: if they like you as a person, they MIGHT buy from you. But if they don’t like you as a person, they DEFINITELY won’t buy from you. How likable are you?

34. People respond to policies. How do you tell people “how you roll”?

35. The longer they take, the less they buy. And a confused mind never buys. Complexity = Contemplation = Lost sale. How are you expediting your sales cycle?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What other cultural trends are changing the way we do business?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Add yours to the list!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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2,500 days and counting…

Today is day 2,500!

Man, that’s almost seven years.

Wow, what a ride it’s been so far! Can’t wait to see what the next 2,500 days brings!

Anyway, I’ve been saving this post for just the right occasion…

* * * *

Last night I asked my friend Maria, “What was the major contributor to your success?”

She told me that when she married a man from a different culture, a different religion and a different way of life, the hardest part was dealing with his in-laws.

“I emigrated from Mexico at the age of 28,” she explained. “And even though the language barrier was an obvious challenge, my in-laws were worse!”

Because they didn’t believe in her.

“You’ll never get a job here…”
“You won’t become successful…”
“You’ll only be able to make minimum wage…”

“So, that was exactly why I worked so hard,” Maria said. “To show to them. To prove them wrong. Because they didn’t believe in me.”

Wow.

You know, it’s interesting. If someone were to ask me what the major contributor to my success was, I would say, “Because EVERYBODY believed in me.”

I guess that’s the way belief works. Whether it’s for your or against you, it’s still the most powerful motivator in the universe.

To quote John Mayer, “Belief is a beautiful armor, but makes for the heaviest sword.”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who believed in you first?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Call them right now and thank them.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
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Make a name for yourself here…

Why I love trashcans

A few months ago I was giving a speech to a group of hotel employees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

I told them about the first day I started wearing a nametag (November 2, 2000)…

On that day, I exited an on-campus seminar and noticed everyone throwing their nametags away.

So, I decided to leave mine on, just as an experiment.

And for ONE day, the response was so overwhelming positive, that I decided to leave my nametag on permanently!

As you can see, it ended up working out pretty well. I somehow managed to make an entire career out it!

That was 2,494 days ago.

Anyway, after the training session was over, a young guy approached me and chuckled, “Dude, isn’t it crazy to think that your entire career came from something you saw in a trashcan?”

Huh. Never really thought of it like that.

Which is kind of funny.

I guess some people look into a trashcan and see trash.

While other people look into a trashcan and see opportunity.

What about you?

When you look at the world…

Do you see garbage?
Or do you see gold?

Do you see waste?
Or do you see wealth?

Do you see junk?
Or do you see joy?

The choice is yours. The attitude is yours.

After all, choice and attitude are about the only things in this world you can really control.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When you see people, what do you see?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your best story of “seeing the opportunity in the trashcan.”

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
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Make a name for yourself here…

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