I found some time today to review The Go-Giver book with the LinkedIn group “The Sales Playbook Reading Club (http://www.linkedin.com/groupshome=&gid=3755767&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Egfl_3755767). Here are great summaries of this book:
Amazon has a great review of this book that includes a look into the chapters: http://www.amazon.com/Go-Giver-Little-Story-Powerful-Business/dp/159184200X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319735119&sr=1-1#_. Other favorites summaries of this book are found on http://www.thegogiver.com/extras/articles/:
1.)The
Edge, April 1,
2008
“The Physics of Giving…or ‘Why Human Beings Are Not Billiard Balls’ ”
by John David Mann
2.) BusinessWeek,
March 11, 2008
“What is a Go-Giver?”
by Marshall Goldsmith
Here are Audible’s summary of the Five Laws of Stratospheric
Success:
1.)The Law of Value- Your true worth is determined by how
much more you give in value then you take in payment.
2.)The Law of Compensation- Your income is determined by how
many people you serve, and how well you serve them.
3.)The Law of Influence- Your Influence is determined by how
abundantly you place other people’s interest first.
4.)The Law of Authenticity- The most valuable resource you
have to give is yourself.
5.)The Law of Receptivity- The key to effective giving is to
stay open to receiving.
Below are my favorite discussion comments, including my own, around some of the above laws:
1.)The Law of Value:
Chris Rollins Most of us were raised to believe that if we want to achieve real success it will require us to be “Go-Getters,” right? The first of the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success is completely opposite of that mindset. It requires us to be more focused on GIVING value rather than getting something. Let’s discuss how this Law differs from what most of us were programed by society to believe we must do in order to be successful.
The main key to the Law of Value for me is truly that you are ensuring that your focus is on giving value to others. It was not about giving away more money than you make and going into the poorhouse. Actually, it was well said in the book that there is nothing wrong with making money, even lots of it, it is just that making money can’t be the focus.
When I sense that someone is just trying to be a “getter” I will not do business with them. They are just focused on themselves.
As John said so well, it is not about a “strategy”. You can’t be a true giver if you are keeping score. I realize that it is counter-intuitive to many, but Adon mentioned the Law of Reciprocity (one of my favorite subjects to teach on and one I teach my kids ALL the time).
I have been blessed to be successful in my life by most people’s standards. However, my focus in what I do is to add value toothers. I never go in to a situation trying to see what I can “get”
from it.
Ernesto in the story said that a great restaurant’s goal “is to provide a higher quality of food and service than any amount of money could possibly pay for.” Funny enough, his was the one that was always full and in the end making more money!
Keep the “challenge” in mind in the book. Agree to test every Law by actually trying it out. Not by thinking about it, not by talking about it, but by applying it in your life.
Jeff Eskow Part of the problem of basing your future success on ‘giving’ before ‘getting’ is
the very real possibility that your generosity will be taken advantage of.
I can’t tell you how many ‘free’ newsletters, reports and such I’ve asked for. These are things I’d never pay for and the sender doesn’t make a nickel off of me, no matter how many e-mails/letters he sends me moving forward.
Of course there is a value in building relationships.The trick lies in doing that – building a relationship as opposed to ‘giving something away’ and hoping down the line the favor is returned.
So when you give something away, the value has to be recognized as the recipient as more than just a ‘freebie’. How is this value determined? I’d say there are many opinions on this.
As Dan said earlier… it’s often hard to quantify. If we spend the bulk of our time ‘giving’, we are not spending enough time asking for something (and order, and appointment, etc).
I think there is a very real truth in that sales are made when you ASK for them. So being a “Go Getter” often really DOES become the better option…at least ‘X’ amount of hours in the working day.
Frank Keith As I read this section of the book I was reminded of a quote that I keep taped to
my computer display: Instead of focusing on being the most valuable sales person, you should focus on being the salesperson with the most value.
Everything else will fall into place over time.
The book’s message reinforces that if you approach every opportunity with a genuine and sincere desire to serve and contribute to the success of others you will be rewarded. Yes, this requires a leap of faith. And yes, you have to be sincere and genuine that you truly want to add value to the relationship.
John Patrick This section was a great reminder that … one’s money is never addressed in a eulogy, but one’s substance, character and significance always are.
Jeff Eskow … This makes me think of the strategy of giving to the practice that some marketers make of offering ‘free’ items that THEY claim have value…while the recipient perhaps thinks otherwise.
Chris Rollins The misunderstanding that I believe so many have about giving is that they feel you have to allow yourself to be someone’s floor mat. That is not it at all (I know
I have heard that philosophy many times through the years). Also, being givers
does not stop us from being receivers also, nor should it. It is simply about
our focus!
Darwin Davis “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
Fortunately, for me, my parents raised six of us by demonstrating how to give value. Teaching Sunday School, Bible School, serving on the elder board at church, etc. While raising six kids they were never “rich” by most peoples standards, but they traveled the world, went on cruises, and enjoyed life together for 59 years. It wasn’t about making lots of money so they could take those trips. It was about influencing people in a positive way, to help improve their lives.
Because of that I really have a difficult time with “go-getters”. The people who sell me the most products are the ones who just want to build relationships. When they visit we discuss common interests, family, vacation, how business is. They don’t even leave a “gift”, it is a relationship. But when I need something I always call them first.
Barbara Giamanco …I have a colleague who charges for EVERYTHING. I mean even a 10 page e-book. For her it is so foreign to think about giving anything away knowing that down the road it comes back to you. I routinely give away my e-book or my LinkedIn “how to” guide,
which is pretty detailed and maybe I could charge for it, but I’m always thinking about the bigger picture. I firmly believe that giving to get is theway to go!
Timothy R Ward As consumers, we can put our experiences with service providers into three
categories:
* Just enough service given to justify the charges
* The most service a provider feels they can give for the price charged
* Service of a higher quality than any money could pay for
We see way too much of the first, settle for the second and rave about the rare case we experience the third.
As a provider of goods/services it comes down to living a culture fueled by passion and values. Give, give, give. Why? Because you love to – it is your way of life!
Adon Rigg, CME,CSE Timothy, I like your insight… This reminds me of the old equation P=V+S ( price = Value + Service) or V=P+S
Me: Shannon Bryant Thank you again, for this group and it’s discussions as a resource. I
have some individual comments and questions:
@Darwin– How does a sales person come off sincere in discussing interests versus business. I try to focus on business, but often get into personal because I genuinely enjoy people and they tend to enjoy me. But I love this topic and would love to get your feedback…
@Barbara-How do you ride that fine line of giving your expertise for free and earning a living from it?
@Jeff- I believe you don’t have to ask for sales. I believe sales are
made by earning them. When you become a trusted advisor and they see you genuinely enjoy them (maybe to Darwin’s point) and care about their success, they give you their current and future sales. They give you them and their relationship. It’s relationships that
drive me, as they give me the most joy. Out of context, but in response to another’s comment, I sincerely enjoy people even through just their content, and try to socially highlight them as such while I take their “free advice and content.”
In general response to the above, I find it easier sometimes in my life then others to give. I believe I’ve noticed a time in my female cycle in which I am more sentimental then others- lol. In general, I think in today’s society, one needs to just do something mindless without any mobile distractions, and just think about life. Some of my favorite times are cleaning to Christian music, or taking a run. I think about the moments I do this, and this is when I think about other people and often how I can help them.
2.)The Law of Compensation:
Chris Rollins So we learned that the first law determines how much you could earn, but the second law determines how much you do earn!
It stated that your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. I thought “of course, just increase the size of your customer base with people who are Raving Fans”…that is the essence of what we are trying to do anyway, right?
I found the distinction between what people earn and how many people they touch to be a complete eye opener! Let’s hear some feedback on your thoughts from this Law!
Barbara Giamanco Chris, I didn’t find this law an eye opener necessarily, because I’ve known for some time that to earn more means serving more people. What I have struggled with is HOW to do it in a way that makes sense. Clearly, if I’m the only one doing all of the service delivery, as I mostly have while bringing in contractors some of the time, I can’t get where I want to go. Bottom line, I will have a difficult time creating massive, large scale success
unless I change that approach. By the way, I decided to do this 18 months ago and have focused my attention on attracting the right people. For me, I think this section made it clear to me how important it is to create a team made up of people working together so that all of you get mass leverage and succeed together.
Chris Rollins Barb, thanks!! I just loved the way he brought out the distinction that explained so well why so many who give great value don’t earn much compared to others.
The team that had been built which made the CEO so successful was a great way to look at it. She definitely had a great team around her that shared a common vision. Developing a team of leaders around you always leads to explosive growth!!!
3.)The Law of Influence:
Chris Rollins This law states that we need to build a network of people who know, like, and trust us. They may never personally buy from us, but they always have us in mind.
It also tells us to forget about the fifty-fifty rule (what I call “keeping score”) because it is a losing proposition.
Barbara Giamanco • For me, the big reminder was NOT keeping score. Most of the time I don’t, but in the spirit of total honestly, I sometimes feel that certain people keep showing up to take but they never seem to give back. What I need to remember is that maybe that person isn’t able to give back to me directly, but they know other people who they tell about me and indirectly that leads to something down the road.
How have I put this into action? Well, I did another complimentary speaking gig as part of a panel at a conference this past Friday. This particular industry isn’t one that I normally focus on, and I accepted the offer to speak as a favor to a friend. I love talking to groups about the
tremendous power of social media to drive business success, and I saw this as another opportunity to expand my net – about 60 people were in the audience. I followed Law #1 and gave more than expected (judging from the nice comments I’ve received) and it is already paying off in unexpected ways:).
Darwin Davis Chris, what I found interesting was the network concept. I have no trouble focusing on my network of clients and trying to serve them better. But I truly have never given much thought to the network I have, that will never purchase an item from me. I look forward to seeing them from time to time, and catching up, but, I never gave any thought to how I could serve them.
Chris Rollins I agree. Most people think about their network that is going to purchase from them. Learning to truly give whether or not the person is ever, or even has the ability to, going
to pay you back is something that has to be done intentionally.
4.)The Law of Authenticity
Me Shannon Bryant: This morning I wrote the most heartfelt messages to one of my friends as a result of just having time to myself to think. The message I wrote my friend was
one that only I could write. It was a message about my personal story of quitting my career to raise my kids, and trying to keep her from making the same career and nearly marriage breaking mistake. I gave her a part of myself and a part of my personal story, and only I could do that for her. In giving of myself, it is so heartfelt that I tear up in writing this. This is
genuine! I gave her me!
In the closing of this discussion, Chris held a call with Bob Berg, the author. Here is the recording:
RT@ Chris Rollins Call in number 712-432-0199 (yes, the last digit is intentionally different from the live call number posted). Participant code 928102#
