That Guy with the Nametag Gives Away the Store

November 17, 2006 Leave a Comment

Do you know Scott Ginsberg? He’s been wearing a name tag every day for a REALLY long time, but really, it’s not about the name tag with Scott. He’s frankly just an amazing guy who writes every day at his blog Hello My Name is Scott, he does a ton of speaking engagements every year, and he’s willing to help anyone and everyone who needs it.

Recently, Scott put out a really handy (FREE) ebook about speaking, something I hope to get into doing very soon. It was so awesome, and he got so much great feedback  about it, he put together ANOTHER (still FREE!) ebook, this time about writing selling and marketing books.

I share these with you because if you’re thinking of being a professional speaker or writer, you really need to read Scott’s 2 free ebooks and understand that it’s a tough business, and it’s not for everybody. Learn from Scott’s experience, and hopefully you can make a more informated decision. If you’re already speaking and in the lower fee range, perhaps these books can help you tweak a few things and boost your confidence so you can boost your fee.

The last reason I share these with you is because you can take many of the tips Scott shares and use them to make your career better, no matter what career you do. You also should read Scott’s other FREE ebooks, 37 Ways to be More Approachable, Be That Guy, and Make a Name for Yourself, 66 Priceless Pieces of Business Advice I Couldn’t Live Without, and 55 Great Questions to Ask Someone You Just Met. I share these with you because I have read them, and they’ve helped me, so I think that you might enjoy them and they might help you.

They’re free, so do whatever you want with them. And tell Scott Phil said hello if you do stop by and visit Scott Ginsberg. Because not only is he “that guy with the nametag,” he’s also that guy with the big heart who likes to help us all learn more, be more, do more. Thanks buddy!

[Phil Gerbyshak is still working on creating his own set of free ebooks. Until they are ready, he'll keep enjoyingall of the amazing people who give away their best stuff, like Lisa Haneberg, Seth Godin, and Guy Kawasaki.]

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

A Season of Gratitude

October 31, 2006 Leave a Comment

Nneka Kelly recently contacted me about a new project she’s sponsoring called “A Season of Gratitude,” a writing project for all of us around the blogosphere, with only 2 rules:

1) Be thankful

2) Be clean and family friendly.

soglogo A Season of Gratitude

I can do that! If that’s something that interests you, I encourage YOU to join the first ever “Season of Gratitude.” In this month of abundance that there is a LOT to be grateful for, so take some time to share that with the world on your blog. The conversation runs through November 22nd, the day before Thanksgiving, so you have plenty of time to think about what you’ll write about. Feel free to run wild and post MANY articles about what you’re thankful for, and let Nneka know so she can give you some link love, something we all should be grateful for.

[Phil Gerbyshak is thankful for many things in his life: his wife, his job, his family, his friends, and most importantly, his Redeemer. Thinking about what he's thankful for is something that will challenge him the next 22 days. Let it challenge you too!]

Technorati Tags: , ,

How to begin writing a book (or blog post, or article or presentation or whatever)

October 22, 2006 Leave a Comment

Do you want to write something people will actually read?

When you do presentations, do you want people to listen to what you say?

Of course you do!

How do you do that? Begin by reading Kathy Sierra‘s genius article about “better beginnings” and think about how you can incorporate these tips into your writing and your presentations. As a beginner, I’m taking her first piece of advice to heart on this post. “Begin with a question. A question the listener wants to have answered.” At least I hope I did this icon smile How to begin writing a book (or blog post, or article or presentation or whatever)

I encourage to read today’s article on better beginnings, and really anything that Kathy writes at Creating Passionate Users. She’s brilliant! Every post offers points that anyone can use, beginners and experienced writers and presenters, and that can help you be more creative in your thinking and your career.

[Phil Gerbyshak has more questions than answers, and asks many of them over at Make It Great! What's the best question you've ever asked, or been asked?]

Technorati Tags: , , ,

5 Ways to Delight Your Customers Every Day

October 5, 2006 5 Comments

Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog is hosting a Blog About 5 Things Week, so I thought I would share my list of 5 Ways to Delight Your Customers every day. It’s a GREAT! way to make people happy, from first encounter to the end.

  1. Greet customers with energy – Don’t just say hello, say Good morning, say Good afternoon, say something and say it with energy!
  2. Repeat their name – If a customer is kind enough to share their name with you, repeat it back to them when appropriate. If they care enough to say their name, you should too!
  3. Encourage them to share their story – Find out why they called or stopped in, if they’ve had this service in the past, if they have kids, anything to get them talking so you can find something in common to make an authentic connection to and get to know them better.
  4. Ask clarifying questions to determine the real need, and uncover what wasn’t said that should have. Ask if there’s more you can do, ask if the solution works for them, ask something, ask anything, but uncover what you need to in order to get a delighted customer.
  5. Thank you – Even if the customer doesn’t buy you from you today, thank them for stopping in, thank them for sharing their story, thank them for talking to you, thank them for something. And if they do buy, it’s obvious you should thank them for the sale!
    and one more…
  6. Follow-up! – The exclamation point of any contact is a call back after the sale or service is done, and find out if your customer got what they needed or if the item is working the way they expected it to, or if perhaps there is more that needs to be done. This ensures customers are delighted, and if they’re not, it gives you a chance to make it up to them, right then and there. You do want delighted customers, don’t you?

So that’s the GREAT! way to delighting your customers, every day. It’s simple, and easy to understand. These steps can be very easy to do if you consciously put them into practice every day.

I’m sure there are many other ways you can delight your customers. Do tell: What other tips do you do to delight YOUR customers?

[Phil Gerbyshak tries to delight every customer he comes into contact with, on his blog, on the street, and in his job. While it doesn't happen every time, it happens often enough that Phil can speak with some authority on this topic. He readily admits he doesn't know everything about customer service, and welcomes your feedback on how he can improve.]

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Advice for Authors: Guru Style

August 2, 2006 2 Comments

Seth Godin offers some free advice for authors. While not all of it is advice I would give or take, having just published/printed a book myself, I think he’s got some really excellent things to think about.

The most relevant, in my opinion, is #4:

Understand that a non-fiction book is a souvenir, just a vessel for the ideas themselves. You don’t want the ideas to get stuck in the book, you want them to spread. Which means that you shouldn’t hoard the idea! The more you give away, the better you’ll do.

journey Advice for Authors: Guru Style
the band Journey, from Wikipedia. That’s me in the front, with the slicked back black mullet hair

It’s why you are seeing more and more authors giving away some, if not all, of their books’ main ideas via their blogs. My book is only 84 pages. Most of the ideas are here for the taking. They may not be put together as neatly as in my book, but you can get the gist. If you buy the book, you get the packaging, like a greatest hits CD from your favorite rock band, with me as the lead singer. I’m like Steve Perry from Journey, minus the mullet, and the voice.

Guy Kawasaki also offers some insights into the craft of writing a successful book, complete with an example of a book about Mary Sidney Herbert, Shakespeare’s ghost writer.

Both Seth and Guy talk about how blurbs don’t matter. Ron McDaniel and I agree that blurbs ARE important, at least for building evangelists for your personal brand. They may not sell you a million copies of your book, but the more eyes you can have on the book before you pull the trigger and push print, the better chance someone will either

a) Love your ideas, and share them with others;
b) Hate your ideas, and tell you to change them, thus saving you the embarassment of putting out a terrible book.

Either way, you WIN!

So I say, get as many people to read your manuscript as you can BEFORE you push print, read the insights of gurus like Seth, Guy, and Ron McDaniel, and then get to writing your own book today, if that’s what you want to do!

Make it a GREAT day!
Phil Gerbyshak

Technorati Tags: , , , ,