“Go-Givers Really Do Sell More” with Bob Burg

This week I welcome back to Your Partner In Success Radio Author and Speaker Bob Burg. Although for years he was best known for his book Endless Referrals, over the past few years it’s his business parable, The Go-Giver (coauthored with John David Mann) that has captured the imagination of his readers. It shot to #6 on The Wall Street Journal’s Business Bestsellers list just three weeks after its release and reached #9 on BusinessWeek. It’s been translated into 21 languages. It is his fourth book to sell over 200,000 copies.

Shifting your focus from “getting to giving” is not only a nice way to live life…but a very financially profitable way, as well.

When Bob Burg, coauthor (with John David Mann) of the international bestseller, The Go-Giver, speaks about “giving,”  he’s talking in terms of  “constantly and consistently adding value to the lives of others.”  When you can take your focus off yourself and shift it onto how you can be an asset of value to other people, you’ll plant seeds of goodwill — of great will — that will come back to you many, many times over. And, not because of some magical, mystical type of thinking, but because it makes absolutely practical sense.

Bob has built his business, and shows others how to build theirs, based on one overriding, foundational principle:

“All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.”

As Bob says, “You cannot control the economy…but you can absolutely control your economy.”

• Law #1 is the Law of Value
• Law #2: The Law of Compensation
• Law #3: The Law of Influence
• Law #4: The Law of Authenticity
• Law #5: The Law of Receptivity

A Year of Success

And did you know that Bob has also recently partnered with 5 time New York Times / Wall Street Journal bestselling author Larry Winget, Chief Fascination Officer of Fascinate, Inc., Sally Hogshead and leadership development speaker & consultant Mark Sanborn to create A Year of Success?

Your Partner In Success™ Radio Show

When: Friday, May 18, 2012

Time: 10 am PST, 11 am MST, 12 am CST, 1 pm EST (Check time zone here)

Where: Your home office telephone or computer.

Website: Your Partner In Success™ Radio

Call-in Number: 347-843-4988

We look forward to “seeing” you!

Your Partner In Success Radio

Let’s face it. People are not as successful as they want to be, as rich as they think they could and should be, or even as happy as they want to be. And that is the truth. And when you couple these very normal and natural thoughts with persistent economical / political low-level dread, there is some real room for mental and emotional improvement just to survive the evening news!

Larry Winget, The Pitbull of Personal Responsibility® is a five-time New York Times/Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Shut Up, Stop Whining And Get A Life, You’re Broke Because You Want To Be, It’s Called Work For A Reason, People Are Idiots And I Can Prove It and Your Kids Are Your Own Fault. He is a member of the International Speaker Hall Of Fame and has spoken to nearly 400 of the Fortune 500. He has starred in his own television series on A&E, been featured in two CNBC specials of The Millionaire Inside as well as two PBS specials and has appeared in national television commercials. Larry is a regular contributor on many television news shows on the topics of money, personal success, parenting and business. And I am happy to say that he visits me on Your Partner In Success Radio pretty often as well!

Larry has partnered with national bestselling author Bob Burg (The Go Giver),  Chief Fascination Officer of Fascinate, Inc., Sally Hogshead and leadership development speaker & consultant Mark Sanborn to create A Year of Success.

Together they have reached over 1,000,000 people with their messages, all over the globe. And  A Year of Success is the combination of all of the best work they have developed over the years of their careers and is now available to the public in weekly bite-size, easily digestible chunks.

In A Year of Success, the four of them will teach you, challenge you, provoke you, and push you outside your comfort zone to the point that you win bigger, faster, smarter results.

A Year of Success is an online educational system brought to you by four of the world’s leading success experts. Each week the client will receive a three minute training video from one of our experts, plus a downloadable PDF that includes the lesson and two actionable steps. Along the way, recipients will receive four other high-value bonuses as well at no additional cost. AND…. all for less than $3 a week. I listen to these guys every morning before I begin my work day.

Click here to watch videos.

We will be covering a lot of territory from Larry’s new program, to entrepreneurship, to Larry’s upcoming segment on Fox and Friends where he will be doing an in-studio graduation speech for a small audience in caps and gowns on “What it really takes to be successful in the real world”.

Please join us live or listen on demand. You can also download the show in iTunes here.

Your Partner In Success™ Radio Show

When: Friday, May 11, 2012

Time: 11am Central (Check your time zone here)

Where: Your home office telephone or computer.

Website: Your Partner In Success™ Radio

Call-in Number: 347-843-4988

Began my morning by logging into A Year of Success and listening to Larry Winget talking about why most everything you have been told is a lie, (LOVE Larry Winget!) and Mark Sanborn who is defining leadership.

Next up is Sally Hogshead whose topic this week is how to create an intense emotional focus and then to the fabulous Bob Burg who talks to us about “push versus pull”.

How wonderful is this that I can be at my desk with these four incredible teachers, my favorite hot beverage and a cat draped over my keyboard? For less than $3 a week? I am not sure which of these guys/gal came up with this idea, but I thank them for it.

Why the Traditional Copywriting Formula Isn’t Working

Lisa Manyon is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author, copywriting strategist and master of powerfully communicating marketing messages to increase results. A leading expert in copywriting, Lisa successfully challenges the notion that “copy is king,” with her message that copy is actually QUEEN, strategy is KING, and together they are the key to creating strong and effective results.

She is the creator of the new marketing model for success that’s changing the way people market today. Lisa tuned into tactics that consumers, especially women, were turned off by. She recognized that standard marketing techniques, especially in the copywriting arena, are antiquated and not as effective as they once were including; hyped-up claims, overly “sales-y” spiels, hard-sell tactics, broad-based messages, scare tactics, stretching the truth, false claims of scarcity, over-dramatizing pain and problems and more, Lisa shares a better way.

She’s found that the traditional copywriting formula of “Problem. Agitate. Solve.” isn’t resonating with women. Women are looking for solutions to their challenges. What’s really working is her new copywriting formula of “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.”

In the traditional formula we’re taught to highlight the issue, we’re told to agitate that issue to focus on the pain points and then we solve the problem. Manyon believes people are in enough pain. We don’t need to be agitated to make a decision. In fact, especially for women, when someone acknowledges our challenges (and really understands where we’re coming from), provides a helpful solution and extends a friendly invitation, we’re more likely to take action. Nothing truly flows when it comes from a place of pain and fear…

Lisa has been interviewed by mainstream media on the topic and created a program featuring her philosophies called How to Create Marketing Messages with Integrity: Attract Your Ideal Clients with Your Authentic Voice.

Lisa’s mission is to give women a voice to turn ideas into something that matters. She writes copy for conscious entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, coaches and artists who feel overwhelmed as they try to write their own content. She helps articulate big missions into marketing messages that truly resonate without feeling “salesy” or “icky.”

Well known for her Manyon Marketing Web Makeovers, website copy packages and Content Strategy Plans, Lisa helps her clients build relationships, attract ideal clients and ultimately increase income online. Her expertise in planning and strategy has helped generate over $40,000 in just one focused campaign. She is a master of matching your message to market in your authentic voice. Plus, she has a passion for helping people reach their individual goals. She helps transform dreams into manageable action steps with tangible results. Her passion for authentically sharing newsworthy messages has earned her recognition for press release and publicity results.

President of Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC, Lisa has successfully operated her business since 2003. Additionally she has spent well over 20 years in the marketing trenches of advertising agencies, radio stations and non profit organizations. She is the recipient of the Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Award in The Hot Mommas 2011 Competition and is featured in the world’s largest digital library of role models for women and girls, housed at George Washington University. Lisa is co-creator of the 24-7 Web Sales Secrets Course and co-author of the #1 best-selling book Success Rituals 2.O – Winning Habits of High-Achieving Women: How She Does It and You Can Too.”

A featured writer for Today’s Innovative Woman magazine, Lisa’s blog received the 2011 APEX Award in Publication Excellence. Lisa is a Council Member and Founding Member of the Women Speakers Association, Founding Member of the Evolutionary Business Council, Expert Faculty for Business Brilliance University and more. She’s developed marketing training, participated in numerous speaking engagements, teleseminars and interviews. She publishes Manyon’s Musings and offers a complimentary Copywriting Action Plan to subscribers. To learn more about working with Lisa Manyon and Write On ~ Creative Writing Services or to schedule an interview, visit her website here.

You will discover…

• Why consumers really don’t need to be “agitated” into making a buying decision
• What people are responding to in marketing
• The NEW copywriting formula that helps you to truly connect with your ideal clients

Please join us live or listen on demand. You can also download the show in iTunes here.

Your Partner In Success™ Radio Show

When: Friday, April 13, 2012

Time: 11am Central (Check your time zone here)

Where: Your home office telephone or computer.

Website: Your Partner In Success™ Radio

Call-in Number: 347-843-4988

Let’s face it. People are not as successful as they want to be, as rich as they think they could and should be, or even as happy as they want to be. And that is the truth. And when you couple these very normal and natural thoughts with persistent economical / political low-level dread, there is some real room for mental and emotional improvement just to survive the evening news!

You already know that I do not bombard you with a ton of “buy now” stuff and I only recommend products that I actually use and benefit from myself. What I want to share with you today is A Year of Success.

If you connect with me on Facebook. LinkedIn or Twitter,  you already know that Larry Winget and Bob Burg are friends of mine, and people who I have a VERY high professional and personal opinion of.  Larry Winget is known as “The Pitbull of Personal Development” and is a 5 time New York Times / Wall Street Journal bestselling author and somebody you see on TV a lot. Larry is a regular contributor on Cavuto, Fox News, and other news networks. Bob Burg is one of my favorite authors and if you haven’t already done so, you really should read the Go Giver or Go-Giver’s Sell More and his latest book, It’s Not About You: A Little Story About What Matters Most In Business.

Larry and Bob have partnered with Chief Fascination Officer of Fascinate, Inc., Sally Hogshead and leadership development speaker & consultant Mark Sanborn. Mark is the president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea lab for leadership development. Leadershipgurus.net lists Mark as one of the top 30 leadership experts in the world. Mark is the author of You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader which speaks to leaders at every level, both those with and without titles. The book focuses on six things that all leaders do to make a positive difference. If you want to learn how to lead, or you are a leader looking for ways to lead better or teach others to lead, this book is for you.

Fascination is an intense emotional focus. When customers are fascinated by you and your message, they’re more likely to trust, believe, and respect you. As the only keynote speaker and author on this topic, Sally Hogshead has developed a scientifically-based system of influence, based on the brain’s hardwired patterns. For any goal that requires strong communication— from selling insurance to motivating top talent— the Fascinate system outlines the shortcut to persuasion. Sally has taught over 100,000 people how to use their natural strengths to become more persuasive.

I tell you all of this so you know who will be working with you and what they collectively bring to the table.  In fact, the four of them have reached over a million people with their messages, all over the globe. In A Year of Success, they will teach you, challenge you, provoke you, (Larry!) and push you outside your comfort zone to the point that you gain with bigger, faster, and smarter results, no matter what you are doing.

According to recent news reports, Global Payments, a third-party card processor for Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express, has suffered a data security breach. Hackers gained access to accounts of up to 1.5 million cardholders, stealing account numbers and other key information. The information could be used to create duplicate credit, debit and ATM cards.

MasterCard officials said a forensic review is being conducted by an “independent data security organization.”

Visa has more than 650 million U.S. credit, debit and prepaid cards, MasterCard 305 million, American Express and Discover over 50 million each. Banks say they will notify cardholders and reissue their cards if their information has been compromised.

If you think you are at risk take the following steps immediately.

Do not provide sensitive information in response to e-mails from your bank.
Even if an e-mail looks legitimate, do not provide sensitive information such as your credit card security code (the three digits on the back), or Social Security number to anyone claiming to be from your bank, Visa or MasterCard. If you are asked to provide sensitive information, call your bank to verify authenticity.•

Change your password.
To be on the safe side, change your online bank account password.•

Check your credit and debit card statement online daily.
Review online statements for all of your cards. If you notice suspicious activity, notify your bank immediately.

Source: Constant Contact Newsletter

You don’t want to be caught making these mistakes in social media (or in life, really), especially when using it for business. Read on to avoid these social media faux pas and check out the Constant Contact seminars where you can learn more!

1. Not inviting anyone to the party. You can’t just build a social presence by adding your logo and contact information to the platform. You have to promote your presence – everywhere! Send an email to your contacts, post your social media icons on your website, in your emails, on all your printed collateral, and make sure you make the links (if electronic) hyperlinked to your actual pages/accounts to make it easy for people to find you.
2. Talking just about yourself. It’s tempting in marketing to only talk about your business, your features, your benefits, your products and services. But, in social media, you must turn the lens to your audience and talk about them, strike up conversations with and among them, only injecting yourself into the conversation periodically in order to build lasting relationships that will lead to new business when done consistently and authentically.
3. Leaving people hanging. Social media works because it’s people talking with people, sharing with each other, and connecting on common interests. If someone wants to chat, chat back. If someone has a question, answer it. If someone just has something nice to say, thank them. Having the conversation is what it’s all about. When you don’t answer people back it feels like you left the room without saying goodbye.

Times are tough. And I admire people who have that spark of “get up and go” and who will do whatever it takes to promote their small local business. However, if you don’t have the sense that God gave a goat and can’t properly answer your phone, all of that hard work will likely go straight out the window.

For instance, a local two man home improvement company owned and operated by two brothers came by my house this weekend and left their flyer on my door. Normally these get trashed but I was actually looking for somebody who can do many of the tasks that they listed. And they offered references. No website, but I was willing to at least talk to them.

The rest of the story details just HOW you answer your phone can either get you business or have the potential customer abruptly leaving the conversation. First impressions count!

There were two numbers on this (now shredded) flyer. I called the first one at 11am this morning and got a woman on a cell phone who clearly could not hear me at all and who kept hollering into the phone, “Hello? Hello?” “Oh (bad word here) I can’t hear them.” Once we finally established communication she tells me that her husband is at home (home??) and she had their only cell phone, but she can take a message. I was already so underwhelmed that I politely declined and called the second number. The other brother in fact. He immediately wanted to know who I was and what I wanted. All I had done was ask for David and this was his reaction. Clearly I had already decided not to hire these two jewels but just for the heck of it I told him that I was responding to his flyer to see if there would be an attitude adjustment and there was! After he tried to laugh it all off, I cordially informed him that I would look elsewhere and wished him a good day.

Now the sad thing is, they may well be phenomenal at what they do, but their initial “customer service” was so outrageously poor that I now have a mental image of 3 total boobs (I include the wife in this hapless group) wandering around and bumping into walls.

Answering their phones competently and professionally would have avoided this.

I subscribe to a lot of newsletters from different industries and make it a point to go into my special “junk” email set up specifically for these newsletters at least once a week to catch up on what is new, great and quite possibly innovative information.

What I am finding more and more is that many of what used to be my favorite newsletters or ezines are now arriving with nothing more or less than a giant picture of a video that of course links either to YouTube or a page on a website that more often than not, simply features the video and nothing more.

Now I freely admit that I am one of the (apparently) few people that simply does not like to watch videos. I much prefer to learn new material by reading, listening or doing. NOT watching.

While I fully understand that video is critically important to many people from a marketing standpoint, it occurs to me that in the rush to jump on the latest social media marketing bandwagon that the owners of these newsletters and ezines are showing little regard for subscribers who prefer to actually read their material. In fact, they are disregarding the fact that there are three basic types of learning styles; visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. By choosing one form of information delivery only, I suspect that the number of “unsubscribes” will grow and these list owners will not know why.

I would humbly suggest that the owners of these lists also make available the content of the video in written and possibly audio form for those of us who will not click to watch.