6 Secrets of Highly Pursuable Professionals

Who’s in hot pursuit of you?

Professionally, that is. I don’t want this to turn into another episode of Cops.

Anyway, if the answer is, “Not enough people,” consider these six strategies for becoming a more pursuable professional:

1. Be beautiful to listen to. Consider the last five vendors you’ve hired. Or the last five colleagues you’ve partnered with. Hell, even consider the last five people you’ve dated. Question: How many of those individuals were a pain in the ass just to LISTEN to?

Every interaction you have with somebody either adds to or subtracts from the positive perception of your brand. What’s more, the pursuit of a potential person – business or personal – is either exacerbated or enhanced by the way you feel when interacting with that person.

Remember: When you’re music to people’s ears, you’re a magnet to people’s wallets. Would YOU be compelled to listen to you?

2. Learn from the daters. “Pursue” is a common term used in the dating world. So, I’ve collected a myriad of journal, blog and message board quotations from various single people. As you explore this list, consider the implications of each “non-pursuable” to your own business:

a. I didn’t pursue because I assumed he was out of my reach. Are you perceived as being out of your customer’s league?
b. I didn’t pursue because I assumed he didn’t like me. What false assumptions are your customers making about you?
c. I didn’t pursue because I didn’t feel confident enough to go after him. How are you increasing customer self-confidence?
d. I didn’t pursue because I was scared of the potential of failure. How could you remove the threat of rejection for your customers?
e. I didn’t pursue because I was resolute in the belief that I wasn’t better than anyone else. How might you increase your customer’s self-esteem?
f. I didn’t pursue because I saw him kissing some random girl in a bar. Are you overly engaged with your current customers to take on anybody new?
g. I didn’t pursue because I was worried he was going to tell his mom. Are your customers concerned about confidentiality?

Remember: Business and dating is EXACTLY the same thing. You still have customers. You still need to look attractive in their eyes. You still have to keep them satisfied and coming back for more. And still need to make yourself more pursuable to future prospects. Whom are YOU dating?

3. Become the physical embodiment of your expertise. It’s one thing to know something; it’s another thing to BE that something. And if you want to be pursued in greater numbers, your expertise must become crystallized through the sieve of experience – PLUS – intelligent reflection upon that experience.

That’s certainly the type of person I’d pursue. Someone who doesn’t know (x), but who IS (x). See the difference? Embodiment secures trust. Embodiment reinforces character. And embodiment promotes pursuit. Are you acquiring knowledge or do you possess REAL wisdom?

4. Figure out what’s missing for people. If you build it – and they DON’T come – it’s because they don’t want it. Or because they don’t know you built it. Or because you didn’t solve their problem. Or because you’re passionate yet irrelevant – cool but inconsequential.

Here’s the secret: People who get pursued are the ones who UNDO what the customer has done to himself. But they’re not jerks about it. They just strategically position themselves based around what they were designed to cure. And as a result, prospects are hot on their trails. What problem are you the answer to?

5. Learn from the lawyers. In the legal world, “pursuable” is also a term traditionally designated to cases and complaints that have a positive chance of succeeding. And the best lawyers are the ones who pinpoint pursuability immediately, so as not to waste anybody’s time.

Interestingly, when I researched the term “non-pursuable,” I found a collection of cases from a variety of industries. Each of them predicted non-pursuability in some fashion. So, as you read each of these, consider the applications to your own career:

a. The case was non-pursuable because they passed the statute of limitations. Has the clock run out on your brand’s market relevance?
b. The case was non-pursuable because the charge wasn’t significant enough. Do you matter?
c. The case was non-pursuable because they didn’t meet the case criteria. What is your credibility strengthening process?
d. The case was non-pursuable because the complainant didn’t provide further information. Are you leaving people hanging?
e. The case was non-pursuable because the proposal effort was unwarranted in light of the likelihood of rejection. Are you known for saying no reflexively?
a. The case was non-pursuable because the accused was incarcerated. Have you actually left the house today, or are you still in your jammies?
b. The case was non-pursuable because they were unable to contact the company. How many different ways can customers reach out to you?
c. The case was non-pursuable because insufficient evidence was collected. If you were charged with the crime of delivering value, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
d. The case was non-pursuable because they lacked substantiation. Are you proving value?
e. The case was non-pursuable because the assailant was never identified. Do you have a good working model of your brand identity?

Remember: Lawyers know what they’re doing. Most of the time. OK, some of the time. Alright, fine, lawyers are evil and they should burn in the fiery pits of hell for all of eternity. But the point is, they ask better questions than anyone. Listen to them. They’re the masters at determining pursuability. Have you had lunch with your attorney lately?

6. Let your customers help you sell them things. People train you how to treat them. Customers tell you how to sell them. All YOU have to do is listen. Now, I’m not talking about any of that manipulative NLP mirroring/matching/pacing crap. I’m talking about leveraging the natural rhythms of your customers.

Pinpointing their passions, preferences and personalities – then using those patterns to stop selling and start enabling to buy. Because all buyers know what they want. ALL of them. You just need to listen. After all, what YOU sell isn’t the same thing as what THEY buy. Know the difference. How are you giving customers permission to make your business better?

REMEMBER: As much as you’d like to – you can’t MAKE people pursue you. You can, however, transform yourself into a more pursuable person.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “12 Ways to Out Service the Competition,” 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!

10 Ways to Create an Aura that Makes You More Desirable without Wearing Pheromone Cologne

1. Attitude is the best asset. Especially in a down economy. My challenge to you is to approach recessions as opportunities to renew resourcefulness. By blaming the economy you evade responsibility and continue to NOT taking action. Instead, believe that greatness is near.

Believe that behind every problem there’s a question trying to ask itself. And next time someone asks you, “Do these pants make my RUT look big?” just reply with, “No, but your attitude does.” How will you exponentially increase the net value of your attitudinal asset?

2. Awareness is the great advancer. Achieving mastery in ANYTHING begins with the prerequisite plunge into awareness. And I bet you’ve been there before, too. You know, it’s that crucial moment when you jolt awake out of your sleepwalking and exclaim, “Holy crap! I can’t believe I never thought of that until just now…”

That’s awareness. Business, personal, spiritual, whatever. And the cool part is, once you arrive at that space, the architecture of your spirit is never the same again. The bell of awareness has been rung, the waves have been sent, and the vibrations will echo in your heart forever.

Now, that doesn’t mean you won’t experience an occasional relapse. But complete regression back into your old, oblivious self is near impossible. Awareness simply advances you too far. As the old PSA’s from Saturday morning GI JOE cartoons used to remind me, “Now you know – and knowing is half the battle.” What’s hidden from you that, if you were able to see, would set you free?

3. Contribution is the great commission. Remember when you used to go camping as a kid? What was the first rule your counselors taught you? Leave the campsite better than the way you found it. That’s contribution. And the same rule applies when you’re all grows up and all grows up. Except this time, the campsite is the world. And what you leave behind depends on how you answer the following questions:

a. What were you designed to cure?
b. What are you the World Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of?
c. What would disappoint the world if people heard you had stopped doing it?

Anyone can contribute. Clarify yours – and then find a creative way to serve through it. What have you been commissioned to contribute?

4. Complying without questioning is self-mutilation. Indoctrination causes numbness. Don’t give mass consciousness permission to think for you. Evolve out of that. Engage a different part of yourself. Invite whatever forces you to grow, rise from the ashes and surrender to the next phase of your own evolution. You’re a bigger instrument now. Are you living other people’s ideas about who you are?

5. Detection of inertia determines emancipation. Newton’s First Law of Motion defines inertia as “preserving in its present state,” or “an object in motion stays in motion.” Your challenge is to figure out what areas of your life are suffering from inertia, and what you can do to alter their trajectory. In order to do so, you have to run an Inertia Index. Spend a few minutes entertaining the following questions:

d. Where do you need to plant the seeds of movement?
e. How could you start your workday practicing your job?
f. How will you quantify the milestones of your progress?
g. How can you keep your momentum going without burning out or getting bored?
h. If you were to begin fully living your life, what is the first change you would make?
i. What one step could you take now to start moving forward to your ideal future?
j. What if, overnight, a miracle occurred, and you woke up tomorrow morning and the problem was solved – what would be the first thing you would notice?

Remember: Riding a bike downhill doesn’t mean you have strong legs. The sooner you learn where you need to peddle, the sooner you’ll be free to get where you need to go. How will inertia emancipate you?

6. Deficiency of self-esteem underprices value. Here’s one of the most powerful self-esteem building exercises you will ever practice. Put on your best suit. Go into the bathroom. Then stare at yourself in the mirror and quote your fee, over and over again, without flinching, for twenty minutes.

First you’ll feel silly. Then dumb. Then curious. Then confidant. Then excited. And then, ready to go sell something. And from that moment on, whenever fee-quoting time comes, you won’t skip a beat. Because you’re practiced it a thousand times. How much money are you losing because you don’t love yourself enough?

7. Displacement is the best sobriety. If you’re currently intoxicated – not from a substance, but from a situation – get out of town immediately. Even if it’s as simple as driving twenty minutes into the next county. Leave now. Dislocation creates clarification. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but it does. So go. Call the office and tell them you’re not coming in today. I’m giving you the day off. Where could you go that would sober you up?

8. Experience without reflection is emptiness. As my mentor taught me, “We learn not from our experiences, but from intelligent reflection upon those experiences.” So, don’t just reflect on the experience – write down your reflections. Because if you don’t write it down, it never happened. What’s more, if you don’t capture it, you can’t recreate it. And if you don’t know where the rock created the ripple, you won’t know where to throw future rocks. What did you write today?

9. Happiness is the best dividend. Happiness isn’t your goal. Contribution is. Validation is. The interesting part is, when you focus your energy on accomplishing those two things first, happiness becomes an inevitable consequence. Not intentional, but incidental. And it tastes that much sweeter as a result. What will make you happy that has nothing to do with ego or image or status?

10. Inexperience is the great limit-squasher. When you don’t know the rules, you won’t know when you’ve broken them. That’s when you end up soaring past everyone else. Because their creativity is confined by self-imposed limitations disguised as “rules.”

You, on the other hand, embraced your inexperience and took the plunge clear-eyed and confidently. And you learned that ignorance isn’t just bliss – it’s bank. If you dreamed in terms of your unrealized potential and not your limitations, how would that change the dream?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How will you create an aura that makes you more desirable?

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]

If they can’t come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

Buy Scott’s new book and learn daily practices for becoming a more approachable manager!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

How to Show Up without Showing Off

Woody Allen was wrong.

His famous one-liner was, “80% of life is showing up.”

Wrong. Showing up isn’t enough.

Think about it: How many times have YOU showed up … and sucked?

HERE’S THE REALITY: That you show up isn’t nearly as important as how you show up.

People respond to the sum total of what you present to them. Either positively, negatively, or not at all. It all depends on how you show up.

The problem is, people often shrink from showing UP because they’re terrified of being accused of showing OFF.

This doesn’t have to be the case. You can still show up strongly without showing off annoyingly.

Let’s explore seven strategies for doing so:

1. Stop proving yourself and start expressing yourself. This is a hard and humbling shift to make in your behavior. Took me about five years. And looking back, I now realize there are a few steps that can be taken by anyone to do so:

FIRST: Stop proclaiming and start displaying. Create avenues for others to experience your unique talents.

SECOND: Stop demanding your rights and start deploying your gifts. An attitude of entitlement doesn’t look good on anyone.

THIRD: Stop trying to be somebody. Befriend who you already are. It’s a lot less work.

Ultimately, these practices will enable you to inspire people from the inside, as opposed to advising them from the outside. Remember: The less you have to prove, the less other people will feel threatened around you.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. What does your presence awaken in people?

2. Forego the fear of being found out. If you’re at war with yourself, you will not show up well. And the body count will double every time you walk into a room. Instead, your mission is to preserve an attitude of self-acceptance. To occupy your vulnerability and make friends with all aspects of yourself – even the ones that make you cringe.

That’s what I’ve discovered after 3,278 consecutive days of wearing a nametag: When you relax and assume everything is perfect, you begin to feel rightness and complete appropriateness in who you are. And so do the people you meet.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Are you AT war with yourself or IN love with yourself?

3. Assemble initiative, not inertia. That means being willing to be heard. That means being twice as proactive in everything you do. And that means being diligent in putting yourself in the success moment, and doing so with deadening regularity.

The enemy of initiative, on the other hand, is being paralyzed by your own mistakes. Being distracted by your own nonsense. And becoming a prisoner of yesterday’s errors. Be careful. Inertia is the slaughterer of success. Only movement counts.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Are you a cause or an effect?

4. Learn to become a part of every place you enter. In the fantastic book, Honoring the Self, I learned: “Come soft and bright as a sponge to be filled, unresisting; and allow nothing to weigh too much within your soul.”

That’s definition of vulnerability. That’s the epitome of openness. And if you practice this, and you will be welcomed everywhere you go. You will feel at home wherever you go.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. When you walk into a room, how does it change?

5. Learn to become someone when you’re alone. That way, should you find yourself suddenly kicked to the curb (by your job, friends, spouse, partner, whatever), you can still prosper. As long as you listen deeply TO yourself, stay in constant rapport WITH yourself and heed what you hear FROM yourself.

That’s why I love yoga. It’s rock-solid practice trusting your support system of inner resources. Plus, you learn to “take your practice off the mat,” which is the process of transporting what you learned from one discipline into various other life containers.

As Emerson wrote in Self-Reliance, “The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” And ultimately, becoming someone when you’re alone makes it easier to show up AS someone when you’re not.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. How often do you hold daily appointments with yourself?

6. Build a better you. Mousetraps are overrated. YOU are the only product that ever matters. After all, people buy people first. My suggestion is that you rededicate yourself as an instrument, recenter yourself in your commitment and recreate situations where your gifts can flourish.

That’s how you become the person you most admire. By creating a vision of how you would like yourself to be, “trying on” that vision until it fits like a glove, and then making sure lots of key people are watching you wear it.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. In what area(s) of your life are you most motivated to improve?

7. Don’t just DO differently – BE differently. Here’s how: First, choose to approach the world as one giant banquet. Second, regard every moment as a new, positive opportunity to exercise your choice about how to experience life. And third, live like it’s nobody’s business.

That’s what it takes to BE (not just DO) differently. Sadly, most people aren’t ready for different. They get scared when they meet different. And you have to learn to be OK with that. You have to learn to soar in spite of that. So, remember what my Grandpa says, “Do the best you can with as many as you can.”

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Do you have the courage to be unpopular?

REMEMBER: That you show up is eclipsed by the importance of HOW you show up.

Don’t shrink from doing so for fear of being accused of showing off.

Sculpt yourself into the person you want to present to others.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do you show up?

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]

If they can’t come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

Buy Scott’s new book and learn daily practices for becoming a more approachable manager!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

When you walk out of a room, how does it change?

Five words that will change your business forever:

“Who was that masked man?”

Name that show!

Of course: The Lone Ranger. Even a Gen-Xer like me knows that.

And just imagine. Wouldn’t it be cool if customers said something like that after YOU left?

Curiosity. Intrigue. Fascination. Amazement.

That’s what those five words represent. The Lone Ranger was so cool, so unforgettable, and so distinctive that when he left, people wanted more.

SO, HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION: When you walk out of a room, how does it change?

HERE’S THE SECRET: Whatever change occurs to the room is a tangible representation of how your character, actions, words, reputation and personality have been experienced by the people around you.

The following list explores several possibilities of how a room might change when you walk out of it. As you explore these examples, ask yourself which of them best applies to you, or which ones you’d LIKE to apply to you:

1. When you walk out of a room, are people genuinely sad to see you go? In a 2009 Daily Show interview with Michael J. Fox, Jon Stewart wrapped the conversation up with the following compliment, “Michael, when you walk into a room, everybody feels better.” Wow. Sure is inspiring to see someone have that kind of affect on people. And I imagine that if YOU did, your career would surely skyrocket.

Unfortunately, some individuals are the opposite: Everybody feels better when they walk OUT of a room. And the silent dialogue becomes, “I’m so glad she finally left,” “I thought she’d NEVER leave!” or, worst of all, “Thank God that guy’s gone. Now we can relax.”

This is not good. If your leaving the room results in people’s postures relaxing as they breathe a hefty sigh of relief, you’re doing something wrong. If your leaving the room allows people to (finally) resume their conversations, you’re doing something wrong. Do you bring drama or peace into people’s lives?

2. When you walk out of a room, does the population of that room decrease? That’s the epitome of leadership: People want to walk out of the room and follow you, even if they have no idea where you’re going. That’s also a surefire sign of presence: People just assume go home now that you’ve left the party.

Because you’re inspiring. Because you’re trustworthy. Because you’re fun to talk to. And because you’re followable. I wonder what you would have to think, say, do or BE differently in order to make that happen. How are you leaving an imprint on everyone you meet?

3. When you walk out of a room, does the temperature go up five degrees? This reminds me of SNL’s Debbie Downer, brilliantly played by Rachel Dratch. Her cynical character’s sole purpose was to interrupt social gatherings to voice negative opinions and pronouncements. She immediately sucked the energy level out of the room like a Hoover vacuum. And ever time she did so; the classic “Wa-Wa” trumpet sound effect would play.

Are you like that? Someone who persistently adds bad news or negative feelings to a gathering, thus bringing down the mood of everyone around you? I hope not. Because Debbie Downers are avoided like the plague. And when they walk out of a room, people are GLAD to see them go. Because negatively rarely looks good on anybody. What is the temperature of your presence?

4. When you walk out of a room, do people ask about you? This brings us back to The Lone Ranger. His departure stimulated curiosity, intrigue, fascination and amazement. Now, obviously you can’t expect to achieve such memorable presence every time you leave a room. What you CAN do is increase the probability of people asking about you by practicing tenets of approachability.

First: Be The Observed, not The Observer.
Second: Create Points of Dissonance.
Third: Position yourself as a resource.
And fourth: Build Name Equity.

No silver bullets, horses or sidekicks necessary. Are you buzz-worthy?

5. When you walk out of a room, does it get quieter? Meet my friend Neen James. She’s a productivity consultant, originally from Australia. And while it’s hard to explain in writing, she has the most contagious, smile-inducing laugh you’ll ever hear. She’s also the type of person who can find humor in anything.

So, when you’re hanging out with her, you get to hear that famous laugh A LOT. Which, in turn, makes you laugh more. Which makes her laugh more. Which makes you laugh more. And the endless cycle of fun begins. Combine that with Neen’s optimistic, no-worries attitude and upbeat energy, when SHE walks out of the room, the volume goes from eleven to six. Like clockwork. Which makes sense, since she IS a productivity consultant. How fun are you pereceived as being?

6. When you walk out of a room, how do you leave people? Maybe people start taking action. This means you were inspiring, interesting and actionable. Maybe people swim in mutual confusion of having no idea what the hell you just said. This means you need to speak with more Meaningful Concrete Immediacy.

Or, maybe people spring to life. This means you spoke in a passionate, challenging and empowering manner. The choice is yours. How do you leave people?

7. When you walk out of a room, are new people connected that otherwise wouldn’t have met? Networkers work the room. They deal their deck of business cards to everyone they encounter in a superficial, flaky, campaign-trail way. They’re spotted from a mile away and reek of the stench of self-centered overexertion.

Connectors, on the other hand, help the room work itself. They find people that need to meet, use accomplishment-based introductions, and then get the heck out of the way. But here’s the catch: They can only be spotted from up close. Because that’s the nature of their relationships: Close. That’s how people are draw to them: Close. Are you networking or connecting?

8. When you walk out of a room, does your spirit remain? Lastly, this suggests you don’t just want people to remember you, but to be positively influenced BY you. “Noticeable in your absence,” as I like to say. And the ideal situation is, people will start to patiently and excitedly wait until they are given the privilege of being blessed with your presence again.

Not because you’re always perfect. Not because you’re always in performance mode. Rather, because you always make people feel essential by helping them fall in love with themselves. How do YOU leave people?

REMEMBER: If your presence makes a difference, your absence will make a difference too.

Ultimately, it’s not about being the life of the party – it’s about bringing other people TO life AT the party.

It’s about leaving behind a silver bullet trail of uncracked character that makes people wonder, “Who was that masked man?”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When you walk out of a room, how does it change?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
For the list called, “19 Ways to be the ONE Person at Your Next Conference Everybody Remembers,” 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!


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