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Six Things I Learned Speaking at Google

issamar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:31:54 +0000

I was honored to speak at Google’s Israel headquarters two weeks ago. It was an amazing experience, with stunning and breathtaking views of the Tel Aviv skyline! )

Here’s some of my thoughts and lessons learned.

Rabbi Issamar Speaking at Google Headquarters in Israel

Get Visually Comfortable Even Before You Arrive.

Always ask for a picture of the room you will be speaking in. Especially when your talk is right after an “all hands aboard!” event, so you don’t walk into the room util literally the moment that your speech will begin, it allows you to get a feel of the room layout, which makes the mental stress of walking into unfamiliar territory almost disappear.

Think about the Why.

When your clients say “we don’t allow pictures.” always think about why they are saying that. In this case for example, more follow up revealed that they do not let in guest photographers, but if you ask early enough they can bring in someone that they do allow that will film for you. (as it turned out, I was unable to do that on such short notice, and had to settle for some still images and audio of the session…)

Understand How To Tweak Your Presentation to Your Audience, Specifically.

One of the topics I spoke about was testimonials, and how they do more for your business in more ways than you can imagine. Several of the questions and comments afterward were about how engineers tend to, well, be “engineer-y” when recommending co-workers, and overcompensating the good they say with a wallop of overdosed negatives so it seems “balanced.” while actually leaning heavily on the negatives and rendering many testimonials and letters of recommendation useless by the recipient.Another commented that about the unique way Google does employee reviews, and that one of the techniques I dropped would enable him to get better reviews at his next meeting- even though the ratings are done anonymously and he would, before my speech, have no way of controlling what anyone would write. The effusive thanks was nice, but it made me realize how much more it would have been valuable to the audience had I spelled that out specifically so!

Say something (sort of) unrelated to warm them up.
I said an old Jewish parable to expand on an audience question. (Yes, even Google-ites have questions sometimes!) That parable, as well as some other stories I mentioned (and Kenneth Cole in particular), was very well received by the audience because of it’s application to their professional as well as personal lives…

Bring Your Own Guests.
Have clients or potential clients that live nearby? Have them come and hear you speak. it adds to your credibility, gets them to kvell about you (“I was invited to a private Google lecture. oooh.”) and gives them additional reasons to hire you. (as in”I don’t care if he looks like he just stepped out of a silent film of the 1930s. If he spoke at Google, he knows what he is doing and can help us!”). assuming the client doesn’t mind, it’s a win win win… and you have someone there that you feel comfortable asking to take several snapshots of you as you speak.

Confessions…

I did not utilize this appearance “Hasidic Rabbi Speaks at Google to Resounding Applause”properly. no media mentions of it, no (that I know of) tweets or Facebook photos of it, which was partially due to a family wedding which took place just several days before. But had I done that, this event would have gotten media attention in the wider media, and that would have brought many more people to knowing about me and visiting my website.I also should have asked and encouraged the audience, at some point, to please take pictures and send them to me (for which I could have given a free book or somethin’.)

Now, why did I speak there? I did not speak there with the intentions of getting Google employees as clients, or even to “get hooked up” to an unlimited number of AdWords vouchers. I spoke there because of the prestige of Google, and the fact that once I spoke at Google, it’s a powerful name drop that I can use to further build my brand and my credibility with potential clients.

Your Thoughts? (and special request: please share this post.) I gotta ask…

Kenneth Cole… and “The Birthing of a Shoe Company”

issamar — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:30:22 +0000

From a recent seminar: A story about Kenneth Cole and real “out of the box” thinking.

Kosher?

Every Vote a Miracle- Sliding in Under the Fence

issamar — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:46:53 +0000

I just saw one of the big gurus send out an email all about “shiny object syndrome.”

Essentially, they are promising to make you focus and stop looking for the “next big thing”… How? Buy having you buy THEIR product, which incidentally costs a few thousand dollars… And for the most part, is simply a collection of repackaged old courses!

Yecch.

It reminds me of what Kevin Hogan says about democrats and republicans..

Democrats say “well do it all for you.” jobs, retirement, benefits- you just vote for us and you will get everything you need- cradle to grave- without putting in any effort!

On the other hand, if republicans can get even 30% of the common votes with suggesting that YOU will actually Need to hustle and work to better your life… Than that in itself is miraculous!

Bottom line?

No one is going to give you anything free. It’s all gimmicks, sale hooks, backend monthly programs, and PR opportunities…

Why not do it yourself? Isn’t it time to face the glowing reality that should rightfully be yours when you work hard to achieve the american dream?

Whether you are a democrat or republican, if you want to better your business and career, This is the time and this is the place to get moving.

Someone’s gotta say it, even if no one wants to hear it. the ones that make money long term, honestly and ethically… work smart and hustle to get it!

(Special note- I have room for three entrepreneurs to learn everything they need to know to build a better and much more money generating business- if you can work hard and aren’t drinking the Kool-aid. e-mail me if this is you!)

Leave your comments below….

Marketing Psychology: Do You Know Who Your Client Is?

issamar — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:57:22 +0000

Here is a short but powerful video clip from a recent small business marketing presentation:

It speaks volumes to help you get the right message to the right audience.

Enjoy!

How to Make Sure Your Customers Don’t Come Back – Potato Peeler Marketing

issamar — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:48:26 +0000

Potato Peeler Marketing

On Friday July 1st 2011, one potato peeler, two potatoes, one two year old, and an unnamed (Kitchenaid?) company conspired to bring you this badly lit video.

Enjoy!

Don’t Replicate: Innovate + Upgrade

issamar — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:39:49 +0000

Don’t Replicate: Innovate + Upgrade

Five Nuggets of Business Advice from Groupon and its Clones

With even Google getting into the action with a Groupon-clone of their own, enough is enough! Everybody these days is trying to create the next Groupon — or the next Elance, Fiverr, Reddit or their version of any other successful website.

Fact is, it’s a great way to make money! But why is Groupon-cloning the latest moneymaking trend? Are there no new and original ways to make money out there?

Are people just too lazy to think of something original? Do also-rans ever make it big without some unique intellectual property of their own; offering something slightly different or blending concepts across businesses? Or do the original sites always win, because they have a head-start?

With the Groupon phenomenon actually generating more and more consumer interest for such services, the company itself is buying out competitors around the world with their deep and well-lined pockets. This in turn sees so many more challengers looking to fill the vacuum in demand and become grouponized.

Here’s some of the major takeaways and business advice from the successful clones:

#1: Don’t clone — innovate up from the original

Clones’ successes rely on a growing trend in today’s society: a focus on improvement over invention. Cornell University professor Andreas Wankerl along with MIT professor Eugene Fitzgerald and Carl Schramm, who wrote Inside Real Innovation, point out that our generation’s ability to plagiarize actually yields “a dearth of innovation,”; many of the thousands of patents today are for innovative upgrades and not necessarily new products.

And, in fact, that’s just what most clone sites do! Shilonda Downing works at Yipit (another Groupon clone). She explains that “taking a great idea to the next level really sells.” For those of us totally lost regarding the real differences between Groupon clones (I know I am!), Yipit epitomizes this next level; they aggregate all of the deals from Groupon-y websites into one email a day.

Talk about innovation!

The trick is to know which market to tackle. As Philip Thomas of Sapienta Media points out, innovative clones are all over the place, but not all of them are successful. “The demand for innovation and the market of potential clients will always drive people to start businesses. But… look at Google Buzz – even the enormous Google thought it could compete head-to-head with Twitter by improving upon what it perceived to be a few flaws within the Twitter system,” says Thomas.

So, for those of you looking for the next step, service, or product:

Think – what can you “upgrade” or improve?

#2: Pay Attention to Supply/Demand, and Update Accordingly

Good businesses, as we all know, are flexible: they bend and flow with the market. Cloned businesses may just jump on a consumer bandwagon, but when they do — it’s a high-demand bandwagon with long-term potential.

A great example is the Gap/Old Navy split in 1994. Gap clothing used to be classic and affordable: just the basics, at a good price.

However, as the world cooled down from the decadent 80’s and veered into the more business-focused 90’s, the Gap Company realized that it needed to cater to two distinct markets: a younger, trendier market looking for value-priced clothing that still looked up-to-date; and a slightly more upscale market looking for the same reliable Gap basics with a slightly upscale flair.

Thus, Gap, Inc. split into two: GAP and Old Navy. Only 15 years later, the two store chains number over 2000 stores in the US alone and hundreds more worldwide.

Other products and companies jumped on the bandwagon far too late: anyone remember Betamax?

More recently, Groupon clones, for example, used the recession to their advantage. Thomas insists that Groupon clones were bound to happen. “Groupon has to limit featured businesses each day so as not to overwhelm consumers. If it lists every inquiry that comes in, it turns into a spam email rather than a featured daily deal.” Since the supply exceeds demand, consumers need Groupon clones.

So when you’re choosing a new product to sell, make sure it can change with the times — and is relevant enough to withstand a changing market.

#3: Know Your Intellectual Property Rights

With the internet and social networking dominating the business world, people everywhere rush to put their products and services online. Articles are published, products created and marketed — and us businesspeople look to use every internet resource to our advantage.

However, there’s one catch: How much of our internet-based products are really ours?

“Cloned” or “copycat” businesses operate on a solid foundation of knowing what is Intellectual Property (IP) and what isn’t. In response to one of our queries, John Boyd, CEO at the IP company MeetingWave, pointed out two factors:

1. It’s much easier to build a website than ever before. Once “Cloned” companies know what they can “re-invent” from other sites, they can have it up and running in days.

2. More and more people are anti-IP because they don’t know what IP protects. As a result, many startups don’t pursue IP protection. But when they are successful, there’s a flood of copycats.

Bottom line: Know your IP rights — and when you’re starting up, make sure to secure them early.

#4: Don’t Under-Sell or Over-sell

Concepts also get cloned from a lack of sales savvy. Never underestimate the amount of marketing needed to sell a great product!

Groupon, in particular, is today’s glaring reminder that a great and timely concept requires great and timely marketing. Goh Ai Ching, Head of Business Development at Yet Another Studio, agrees. “I am sure social buying is a timely concept (in terms of economic trends),” Goh Ai Ching writes, “but they should have innovated to ensure that they would get bigger traction from the beginning.”

#5: Don’t Be Embarrassed To Be a Clone

Jewish websites Jewpon and KosherKouponz are Groupon clones targeting the Jewish market, from whom most food-related Groupon deals are irrelevant since they are not kosher. Groupon clones targeting College student, business owners, and others abound as well. And yet, if you have a different client base and an innovative and sustainable model, being a clone has its upsides: it’s so much simpler to explain what you do to potential advertisers, clients and investors… the road has already been paved for you by others.

What business advice from the groupon clones do you have to share? Tell us below!