Get Them to Come to You

I first learned about Scott “The Nametag Guy” Ginsberg while listening to a podcast about his latest book, “Stick Yourself Out There/Get Them to Come to You.” (Scott is a creative fellow and gives his readers two books for the price of one, packaged together in a unique flip-flop format).

During the podcast, I was struck by his enthusiasm for creating approachability. The marketplace is so congested that you have to stand out from competitors and peers to be successful. How will you create thought leadership? How will you increase your web presence in an effective way? Scott focuses on tips and tricks to create approachability and solve the common problems professionals face in building their own personal brand. He covers everything from making first impressions to business card design to leveraging social media.

Scott is at his best at a tactical level. In “Get Them to Come to You,” he gives his readers literally hundreds of ideas they can put into use immediately. The book’s premise is that in today’s world, attention is currency and the best way to get attention is not to seek it but to attract it. Or, as he says in a Zen-like way, “Be the bull’s-eye, not the arrow.” He spends the rest of the book explaining how to do just that.

This in and of itself is not a new concept. Those of us in the marketing biz know it as a “pull strategy,” instead of the more traditional “push strategy” involving heavy doses of mass market advertising. But what Scott does more effectively (and more entertainingly) than anyone else is to refine the strategy and put it directly in the hands of the business person. Some of his concepts will force you to rethink your entire business model (a good thing in the New Economy):

* Get away from what everyone else is doing

* Create a marketing environment

* Develop a web presence, not just a web site

* Become not only an expert but the perceived expert

* Be the go-to resource for media

* The power of giving stuff away for free

And much, much more.

Throughout, Scott asks thought-provoking questions that could conceivably rock your world. Here are two of my favorites:

* If everybody did EXACTLY what I said, what would the world look like?

* What if I only sold one thing?

I’ve been thinking about these ever since.

If you’re interested in learning more about Scott and his books, check out these links:

* MarketingMonday.com

* Thannalog

* The Smart Networking Blog

* Business Management Daily

* Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

* The Recognized Expert

* Down Under

Beyond his books, Scott is a very interesting and deep thinker devoted to writing hours a day. I’ve had the privilege of meeting him personally; true to his writing and philosophy, he’s one of the most approachable people I’ve ever met. And he does wear his nametag wherever he goes. (We won’t talk about his nametag tattoo.)

I’ve made it a habit of stopping by Scott’s blog a couple times a week to see what new ideas he’s turned up. I frequently find myself recharged by his writing. If you’re ever headed to his hometown of St. Louis, be sure to bring him an In ‘n’ Out Burger; he’ll be your friend forever.

Learn more about Scott at his blog, website and on You Tube. For the ultimate Nametag Guy overload, check out his Squidoo page.

I hope you will join us for the first Business Book Club meeting on Tuesday, September 8 from 6 to 7:15 p.m. at the Green Valley Library, located on Green Valley Parkway just of Sunset Road, where we will discuss Scott’s book.

You can purchase the book through Amazon. Here’s the link to the page. We also have several copies available to share. Please contact me directly to borrow one of these editions: wcrozer@entadvisors.com.

William Crozer is an advisor at Entrepreneur Advisors.

The Business Book Club is born

Several months ago my friend William and I were standing outside of the Paseo Verde Library in Henderson after a meeting discussing various networking groups and professional organizations we are both part of. We both agreed that these types of groups are important and bring value to us as professionals as well as the companies we work for, but it would be nice to find something different that would allow for engaging in in-depth conversations with like minded people. Not to say these groups don't do these things, but there seemed to be something we were both searching for.

As we both gazed back at the library behind us, it was as if the writing was literally on the wall. At that moment William asked me, "What if we started a business book club? Is anyone doing that?" And, so the idea was born. Once back at work I told my boss what we had discussed, and he, too, agreed that it was a great idea. After a discussion with Henderson Libraries, we had a location for the club set and an entire team to promote it.

Much brainstorming and planning later, we are ready to host our first meeting in September. The vision is to bring people together to discuss a new book every month and meet new friends and business contacts in the process. We realize people are busier than ever, and we don't want The Business Book Club to ever become a burden. For that reason we have created this blog where we will be posting updates about the group and, more importantly, a synopsis of each month's book will be posted a week or two before each meeting. Don't get me wrong, we encourage you to read the books each month, but we feel getting together for interesting conversations and relationship building is the most important piece of the puzzle.

We hope you will join us for our first meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8, from 6-7:15 p.m. at the Green Valley Library – located at 2797 N. Green Valley Pkwy in Henderson, just off Sunset Road. We will kick off the first meeting by reading "Get Them to Come to You" by Scott Ginsberg. Books can be purchased at Amazon.com.

If you have any questions about The Business Book Club, or to RSVP, e-mail me, Megan Lane, at mlane@imnv.com.

Megan Lane is an account executive at Imagine Marketing.