Connection

Storytelling, Transparency and Relatability

Garth Beyer

I know what my story is.

Correction: I thought I knew what my story was until I got an email a couple of days ago.

Emails open eyes

Gary Vaynerchuck is the man. I loved his book Jab Jab Jab Right Hook and I took his Skillshare class about a week ago. During the class he told his students (me) to email a few others and ask them what they think our story is.

I’ve written that the best way to know what you’re great at is to ask people you’ve worked with what they think you’re great at. Same concept, but this time I’m asking about my story, not my skills. I sent four emails out and got one reply yesterday. Here it is.

What's My Story

TL;DR I might have the knowledge of a 30-year-old, but I don’t have the experience, and you must have the experience to have a story.

I love Tim. His bluntness is what I look for in people who I surround myself with. Just tell me how it is, be forward, that’s how I can best learn and process what my next move will be.

When I sent the email asking about my story, I was expecting positive responses, perhaps flat-out praise. I didn’t think it would turn out like this. I sat and talked to my girlfriend about it. Here. Listen. It starts with Briana asking me about my blog stats to try to make the point that my writing has gotten less relatable… fear not, my stats haven’t changed, but that’s not really a good thing either, is it?

The recording has been removed. It messed up the podcast RSS feed I have. Apologies. You can still find it here.

(Listening to this recording reminds me of the StartUp podcast, and how Alex Blumberg’s wife is the one with real wisdom. Women. They have an act for knowing when we’re wrong.)

I hope this post is transparent enough. It’s my life… doing these things that make me uncomfortable is how I’ve expanded my comfort zone as far as I have.

For those who are interested, the interview went smoothly because I walked in there knowing I have done all I could to get the job, it was comforting enough knowing that. It made things easier.

I still choked on my saliva, spoke too fast at moments, and sweated a lot – all inevitable.

I got the job. When you truly try your best, you’ll get what you want – that’s inevitable too.

 

Stay Positive & It Always Works Out (If You Work For It)

Marketing Close To Pain

Garth Beyer

Remarkable Or Pain

When someone is in pain, they’ll do anything and everything for relief, and if you’re in the business of relief, the more you can charge.

Pain is a strong word, but then again, so is need, which is exactly what marketers place themselves in a position to fulfill.

It blows my mind how any podcaster can charge $1,100 a month for a podcast webinar series. It’s crazy how much some marketing conferences cost.

Likewise, it’s never exciting to hear the burger at the airport is $15 or the beer at a hotel bar is $9 a bottle. Yet, owners and businesspeople and marketers and podcasters alike can charge that much because they are in the proximity of pain.

The marketers who invest in the podcast webinar series are in desperate need to get to the top. The starving traveller, well, is starving.

Want to charge more for your product or service? Get closer to the pain, the need.

Or… or… go to the other end, the end of desire and passion and love. The end of connection and bragging and giving.

You have two options. Sell a mediocre burger for an outrageous amount because you’re close to the pain or sell a remarkable burger for a price that matches its value (sometimes even less because it’s a burger you want people to talk about, an experience you want them to partake in, and joy you want to share).

Fortunately for you the market for remarkable is wide-open, there are people there waiting to be blown away with an experience. The market for pain, however, is crowded. Good luck getting in there.

 

Stay Positive & Yes, Fulfill A Need, But Know Which Need You’re Fulfilling First

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Simple, Quick, Cheap Way To Get More Attention

Garth Beyer

Write letters to 10 influential followers, past client or old friends you know are working on something new.

The $10 it will cost in stamps and envelopes will certainly be better than the $10 you could spend on Facebook advertising.

“Hey, I know your wildly busy and striving for success. Is there anyway I can pitch in? Let me know. *phone* *email*”

You’ll either come out remarkable or memorable to the recipient, and even to those that don’t respond.

 

Stay Positive & Let Me Know How It Goes

The What Will Change, Will You Let It?

The What Will Change, Will You Let It?

Garth Beyer

Startups

I’ve learned from a friend, founder of Bicad, that while the why, where, when, and how of a startup needs to stay the same, the what can often change. And that’s okay. It should…at first.

When you’re resistant to changing your what, you’re preventing yourself from growth, and ultimately success.

Many startups start with the mindset at being remarkable at one thing, their thing, and that’s it. The reality is as they grow and connect with others, clients will ask for different things.

The challenge of startups is to not stretch too thin by taking on whatever is asked, but at the same time not dispel the common needs of potential clients.

It’s much more difficult to instill a need than it is to fulfill a need that is already there.

 

Stay Positive & Find The Best What

It’s Not Better Late Than Never

It’s Not Better Late Than Never

Garth Beyer

Show up early. Apply early. Get up early. Get there early. Send it early.

Sometimes you’ll get somewhere early and end up waiting.

Sometimes you’ll send the email early and not get a response until late.

More often than not, you’ll get a response, a connection, a reward for being early.

It’s been nearly three years since I wrote It PAYS To Be Early. Every experience I’ve had since then has reaffirmed my belief in there always being benefits to doing and showing up to things early. I’ve learned one more important thing.

The times I have been late… the trending result was the same as if I never showed up, never applied, never sent that email.

 

Stay Positive & Early Is Better Than Late And Never

It Takes More Than Gold Star Stickers

It Takes More Than Gold Star Stickers

Garth Beyer

BonusPerhaps your partners, your employees, your teammates don’t need gold stars. Maybe they don’t need the bonus incentive to do extra work. It’s possible the reward system is a band-aid to a larger problem, not the solution to it.

There’s a few things I know for a fact when it comes to getting others to go the extra mile, take on more work, create something remarkable in addition to their job description.

1) Praise. I don’t need to show you the statistics of those who would rather receive less pay if it meant more recognition. And there is this. Endorsed by the one and only. I give email shoutouts to my team of writers when one of them does something way in advance or something remarkable and unasked. Everyone sees who the shoutout is for and why.

2) Passion. As manager or whatever similar title you hold, it falls under your job description to encourage your team to work with passion. If they are assigned a task that doesn’t suit them (and you should know without them mentioning it), then work out a different way to frame the objective to ignite the fire in their belly. You achieve this by acting on fact number three.

3) Connection. You must connect with each individual to learn what encourages them to go past all expectations. Every one is different and to treat them or reward them all the same is a tragedy. You wouldn’t treat all your customers the same, why would you your team?

The question isn’t what can you reward them with for working extra. The question is how can you get to know them better to learn what drives them to do more.

Often times, simply by connecting, it is reward in and of itself.

 

Stay Positive & Toss The Gold Stickers And Bonuses, Your Team Deserves More

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What’s A Successful Connection On Social Media

What’s A Successful Connection On Social Media

Garth Beyer

Helicopter Leaves Complaint

Does responding to complaints, peeves and criticism establish a successful connection? Does it build brand loyalty? Does it lead to a developed friendship. Does it equate to a sure future positive interaction?

A successful connection on social media is when someone shares their dreams, their stories, their hopes and memories and jokes with you. It’s when you can engage in conversation, knowing you’ll converse again in the future. It’s when you look forward to interacting again.

A business who only responds to complaints on social media isn’t building their brand, they’re just keeping it still, stagnant, stationary.

And you know what I say about standing still.

 

Stay Positive & Suggestion Time

If I tell you how much I hate having helicopter leaves stuck to my car? How can you turn that into a successful connection? Tweet at me @thegarthbox 

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