The reason for this is, because while ”talking shop” is important, what keeps the glue between you and your audience is the true getting to know each other… and that includes many details that you would not think of even relating!

Let me . . . → Read More: Your Clients and Readers want to Know about Your Personal Life…]]> You should be talking to your customers and telling them details about your personal life.

The reason for this is, because while ”talking shop” is important, what keeps the glue between you and your audience is the true getting to know each other… and that includes many details that you would not think of even relating!

Let me give you a “f’instance.”

To me, the fact that I am a Rabbi, have a long beard, study and teach Torah, and wear a fur hat on the Sabbath and Jewish Holidays is second nature to me.

I think about it as being something to talk about pretty much only when someone asks me about it.

However, to an outsider, of any religion, of anyplace in the world…. they find this kinda stuff fascinating!

They pepper me with questions like…

 

"Chassidically" Dressed (Image:Wikipedia)

”Why do you wear that fur hat?”

(too long of an answer to explain here.)

“Does it really cost over a thousand dollars!?”

(yes.)

“Have you ever trimmed your beard?”

(no.)

Being a successful business consultant and doing business ”out there” in the real world, dealing with entrepreneurs from all walks of life,  I stand out as being different – and therefore memorable.

I recently spoke to someone whom I had never met before. But just from my uniqueness, I stuck out in their mind from an interaction we had had online… and that made the relationship that much stronger from the get-go.

Let me give you another example.

Kaiser Franz Joseph of Austria. My Grandmother (whom just recently passed away!) remembered him.

When I grew up, up until the age of 27 (!) I had a great grandmother, the eldest daughter of a famous Jewish Rebbe, she remembered Kaiser Franz Josef of Austria, and went from having a cow (she told me once the cow’s name, but alas, it has slipped my mind) all the way to microwaves, Internet, and digital cameras.

Lucid until her final days, the lessons about life and life’s challenges, as well as her perspective on my business issues, were invaluable to me.

To me, this was normal, but to everyone else, being a married father of a child who can clearly remember helping his great-great grandmother get out of bed to the Sabbath table, is something that they can hear about for hours. And the timeless words of wisdom she transmitted to me are priceless – which is why people find it fascinating and listen for hours to stories, historical facts, and priceless pearls of wisdom that I have to share from the time we spent together.

What in your own history is memorable and something you should be sharing in your communications and interactions with clients?

Was your Dad in the Navy? When did you, your parents, or your grandparents immigrate to your current homeland?

Perhaps you are a twin or perhaps you remember a story, a life lesson that happened to you years ago, that you haven’t shared.

It’s hard to remember that details that are insignificant to you, or that you may be bored to death talking about, capture your clients attention and imagination… but it does!

There are lots of nuggets of gold in your own archive of memories.  Just dig in your past and find them… it will help you connect on a personal level to your customers!

The first thing you need to do is… BE MEMORABLE!

Enjoy this excerpt from a seminar I gave last night!

In it, we discuss why sometimes businesses can be very successful- and yet at the same time eventually need to fold because no profit is possible…

BTW: Just as with coupons, or using Barter networks, or using Facebook, I always try to delve into each thing in depth . . . → Read More: Are you in the wrong business?]]>

Enjoy this excerpt from a seminar I gave last night!

In it, we discuss why sometimes businesses can be very successful- and yet at the same time eventually need to fold because no profit is possible…

BTW: Just as with coupons, or using Barter networks, or using Facebook, I always try to delve into each thing in depth so its something I truly understand and can learn from, instead of just having an “overview” of it!

(the video is out of focus.. but the information is good…)

Enjoy!

In a blog post today, Alan Writes:

I receive Google Alerts each day, which inform me of where my name, “million dollar consulting,” “value based fees,” and other . . . → Read More: Just Call Me Rabbi, or Doctor… Let Me Choose To Let You Drop it!]]> One of the people that has had a strong influence on the way I do business is Dr. Alan Weiss, the author of “Million Dollar Consulting” and many other books.

In a blog post today, Alan Writes:

I receive Google Alerts each day, which inform me of where my name, “million dollar consulting,” “value based fees,” and other aspects of my intellectual property appear. Overwhelmingly, these are favorable notices, and I always try to say “thank you.”

This is my own blog post, where I will mention Dr. Weiss, and the great work he does…  his books and tips and tele-seminars have provided me with many of the tools I use on a weekly or even a daily basis, and he is someone you should check out!

Some  “Alanisms” that I have adopted:

- There is an appropriate way to refer to people. while I personally have no problem when someone says “Rabbi Ginzberg” to say “You can call me Issamar”, it will always be preferred (and better for business as well) to have people address me professionally and then let me be the one to say “no need to call me Rabbi”.

Alan’s Terms of Endearment is a good reminder of how to structure proposal payment terms that make sense for both sides… Although the kind of work I do is not with companies that are forces to accept discounts, I have had significant improvements in payment terms and speed after adopting Alan’s style.

And the article on false positives are something to always keep in mind to remind you that many of those “in the hand” deals that are “as good as done” are not really so… and tell you the flags that should let you know that you may be wasting your time.

And yet another is the way people like Alan teach that calling someone Allan instead of Alan can ruin a relationship before it even begins…

It’s good stuff!