23 days to go till Extreme Business Makeovers 2010!

I thought I'd take a quick moment to share the brief interviews that my co-host, Bob Burg and I recently did with AlishaTV about some of what will be happening at this year's event!

It’s almost hard to believe that it’s only 4 1/2 weeks to go till Extreme Business Makeovers 2010! I’m getting calls every day from past participants wanting to know if there is anything they can do to help and saying how excited they were to come experience the event and reconnect with friends from previous years! Wow … what a great reminder of why I always say that our Extreme Business Makeovers audience participants are the absolute best!

If you still haven’t registered or made your hotel reservations at the Caribe, make sure to take care of that right away!

Meanwhile, I thought I’d share some video inspiration about the event … just a little something I put together last week to help explain what Extreme Business Makeovers is all about …

Wow .. hard to believe it’s only 7 weeks to go till Extreme Business Makeovers 2010. It’s going to be an incredible time! In the next 7 weeks, we’ll be posting articles from our speaker team, as well as some other ‘goodies’ here on this blog for you.

Meanwhile, I just posted an article titled, “The Power of Presence” on my Coach Thom blog. You may want to check it out.

Okay … I’m officially beyond excited!

We have confirmations for all of our incredible speakers and our web team is busy prepping the full information and photos to include on the Faculty page.

However, I wanted to share – as quickly as possible – the list of top guns we have coming in to be with us AND let you know about our HOLIDAY TICKET SPECIAL!

Here are the 2010 Extreme Business Makeovers Experience Luminaries:

• Simon T. Bailey – Brilliant Shifts
• Bob Burg – Go Givers Sell More
• Stephanie Frank – Raising Your Success IQ
• Svetlana Kim – Overcoming Challenges On The Ladder To Success
• Paul Martinelli – Unleashing Your Inner Genius
• Frank McKinney – Experiencing “Tap Moments” In Your Business
• Howard Partridge – Truly Effective Goal-Setting
• Thom Scott – Flock Building For Success
• Robert Shemin – How Come THAT Idiot’s Rich And I’m Not?
• Felicia Slattery – Increase Your Business By Communicating Your Credibility
• Carrie Wilkerson – Real Online Success For Online OR Offline Businesses

And a very special talk with, and tribute to, an original “Go-Giver” …

Zig Ziglar


PLUS! An amazing lineup of expert panelists to discuss technology and social media in today’s business world!

• Warren Whitlock – Social Media consultant and co-author of the bestselling Twitter Revolution
• Chris Cree – New Media profit strategist and Founder of Success Creeations
• Trey Pennington – Marketing Pro and author of Spitball Marketing
• Terry Brock – Technology, Marketing and Internet speaker and columnist. Author of Relationship Marketing: It’s not about E-Commerce. It’s about R-Commerc
• Courtney Engle – Social Media Consultant specializing in streamlining implementation and teaching in plain english
• Perry Lawrence – Video Expert and online video profit strategies

& Moderated by

• Dixie Gillaspie – Business coach/consultant. Certified Kolbe Specialist and Go-Giver Coach

Needless to say, I’m TOTALLY jazzed about this incredible group of thought leaders. And, the only thing better than the speakers at the Extreme Business Makeovers Experience is the group of participants we attract (many of whom are accomplished speakers and authors themselves). It’s such an incredible experience getting to spend time with like-minded people and have top-notch speakers like this chatting with other participants in between sessions.  That type of intimacy and connection is why Bob and I have always limited the size of Extreme Business Makeovers rather than make it a stadium event that it could certainly be.

Be looking for more posts here over the next 4 months, 2 weeks and 5 days till the 2010 Extreme Business Makeovers Experience. In addition to articles from each of our experts, we’ll be sharing event news and other timely information to help you and your business!

Wishing you All the Best,

Thom

Thom Scott, Founder of Extreme Business Makeovers

PS. Don’t forget to check out our HOLIDAY TICKET SPECIAL!

So much of advertising has degraded to the point that the ads themselves are the focus and not the products/services that they were supposedly created to sell. In an attempt to stand out from a crowded marketplace, the messages are getting louder and louder to the point where the marketplace – in many situations – has simply become tone deaf.

That’s why I love it when I see and am able to share what I believe to be great marketing – often for very ‘unsexy’ products. In this case – auto insurance.

While GEICO has clearly chosen and successfully run on the path of name recognition and low-margin bargain shoppers, Nationwide is staking its competitive edge on a different path – Innovation and Service.

Nationwide has just introduced a Mobile Application for the iPhone. While I personally think the “creative” for the ads themselves leave  MUCH to be desired, there are several really brilliant strategies about this innovation from a marketing standpoint. Among them:

• The core functions of the application make the process of reporting an accident and filing a claim as streamlined and hassle-free as possible. Nationwide has obviously been asking themselves the hard question – “What can we do to make doing business with us easier?”
• Beyond that, many of the functions of the application are helpful even if you’re not a Nationwide customer. By giving away a free set of handy tools to people that aren’t even their customers, Nationwide is effectively building a bridge to new market share.

We’ve yet to see the result of what this will accomplish for Nationwide. However, IF it is communicated well enough as to get some traction, then I suspect that Nationwide will have effectively positioned themselves as service leaders and innovators in a valuable market that is willing to pay a premium for convenience and cool new tech solutions. We’ll have to wait and see.

For the rest of us, this case study serves as a reminder that, as marketers, we often ask ourselves the question, “What’s In It For Me?” in relation to the communication of why our clients would choose to do business with us. But, how often do we ask that question about our products or services themselves? Are there ways we can innovate to make doing business with us easier, quicker, more effective or fun, etc…?

My business partner, Bob Burg, and myself have asked ourselves those questions about Extreme Business Makeovers. We’ve taken our answers and have been building an EXPERIENCE and COMMUNITY that is unlike any other seminar out there – from our web site all the way to the follow-up tele-seminars and Q&A calls we provide to our attendees free of charge. We are constantly looking for more ways to add value and help our Extreme Business Makeovers “family” get the results they were looking for when they decided to join us.

How about you? Are there innovations you could make which would help you serve a larger audience – or help you serve your existing audience on a much deeper level? If so, get innovating and make the rest of your marketing efforts much easier, more fun and vastly more effective.

I’ll be posting some stories that have occured in the wake of Extreme Business Makeovers ‘09 since I’m already hearing of some quick and tremendous improvements our participants are experiencing. However, I was so challenged by the dynamic Go-Giver Tour team (Bradley Will, Brian Tomkins, Gilbert Mellott and Gabe Strom) that I thought I’d try my hand at creating a quick teaching video (no matter how uncomfortable I am doing it).

This one is about a lesson in gratitude that I learned from my 3yr old, Caleb.  I’d love to find out what you think about it and if you’d like me to continue to do more.

I thought I’d post a video for a message today – to briefly talk about something that came up when I was speaking with a solopreneur who decided to participate in Extreme Business Makeovers. WARNING: It’s unscripted and unrehearsed. I just sat down and did it in one take, so please don’t call and write to bust on my grammatical inadequacies or my “uhms” and “ahs.”

If I had to choose the type of seminar I would want to attend, I would probably go to marketing seminars all the time. I can talk about marketing and new marketing strategies constantly and not grow bored. Aren’t we all like that when it comes to areas that we’re really good at?

In all honesty, though, I admit that it’s not what I potentially don’t already know in the realm of marketing that prevents me from reaching a new level of success. It’s a lack of proficiency at some of the other areas – some that I can’t just delegate or outsource…. some like having good working systems or being able to recognize how a team member is motivated. That’s precisely why Extreme Business Makeovers was created as it was… in order to make sure that we could all (myself included) overcome some of the stumbling blocks that prevent us from reaching new heights.

Today, I’m spotlighting another one of our fantastic speakers – Brad Semp. I’m going to start with sharing his resume and then I’m including one of the articles he has written. If you read his information and article, I’m certain you too will see the value Brad is bringing to the event. However, for me, the bottom line is the Brad is a “get it done” kind of a guy who can teach even scattered, creative types like me how to formulate simple systems that can repeatedly drive business productivity and profits without making you crazy in the process.

Brad Semp is a world-renowned expert in using and teaching process-based approaches to help entrepreneurs and corporations to achieve their goals.  Most recently the head of a $100+ million dollar business unit for a Tier 1 automotive supplier, Brad has founded and grown a business process and consulting company that leverages the power of the internet to produce residual income 24/7.

His business, Cashmap Systems, LLC is headquartered in Shelby Township, MI and focuses on helping small business owners and entrepreneurs to apply a systems-based approach to profit generation.  Often referred to as “The Systems Guy”, Brad is an expert in helping people and businesses to take action that produces results.

His clients range from people currently working in the corporate world with aspirations to “do something else” to entrepreneurs to medium and large-sized corporations.  As a PhD candidate in Systems Engineering, Brad’s dissertation research has been uniquely developed and combined with his experience in business systems to generate a proprietary, Simple Action Success™ approach that he applies to successfully propel his clients to the next level of entrepreneurship and profitability.

Introduced to the online world of internet marketing and profit producing systems in 2005, Brad and his team have developed 100’s of specific, money-making Cashmaps® that he shares with his clients.  Seeking to make a significant impact on the lives of individuals who “want something more out of life”, Brad left the automotive industry in early 2008 to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams on a full-time basis.

Now as an industry recognized expert and speaker, Brad seeks to share his knowledge with others who aspire to change their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
To discover more about Brad’s business building systems, Cashmaps®, or other general information you can visit his corporate website at http://www.Cashmap.com.

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Here’s one of Brad’s articles to give you a feel for his expertise:

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Why Systems Are Essential For Competitive Advantage

By Brad Semp

Think of any enormously successful product or service – whether it’s the iPod, Coca-Cola or the Starbucks coffee chain – and you’ll find, at it’s core, a little discussed, yet immensely powerful system. Indeed, it is this proprietary and sometimes patented system that lies behind the competitive advantage enjoyed by the makers of that product or service. And it’s a system like this that is essential to YOU achieving a competitive advantage in your market place.

Systems are the lifeblood of any successful enterprise and its product and service offerings. Businesses that grow into large and profitable organizations only do so through the systemization of every aspect of their business. Indeed, they typically use process maps – such as a Cashmap – to document each of their key processes or systems. From how they hire people… to how people do their jobs… to business development… to internal entrepreneur systems… to how products and services are developed and delivered… to every element of the business operation as a whole.

Indeed a business IS a system. But the difference between a successful and failing business is often due to whether or not the business perfects, implements and improves every single system that makes up the overall business system. Much like the human body, which relies on various biological systems, a failure of any of the systems that contribute to overall business performance is likely to damage the business system as a whole.

The late business thinker, Peter Drucker, said that a business has only two purposes: innovation and marketing. In both cases – for innovation to lead to differentiated products and services, and for marketing to position those products and services as being superior to competitive offerings – unique, proprietary systems are required. Firstly, when it comes to developing truly innovative – and more importantly, unique and valuable products and services that cannot be replicated by others – it’s essential that a business protect its intellectual property. If possible, the business should patent any innovative and unique processes and systems.

However, regardless of the legal protection available, a business can also stand head and shoulders above its competitors by establishing its own, highly effective methods of marketing its products and services. How? By offering more value to customers… delivering an unmatched level of customer service… using more convenient distribution channels… promoting to customers in more appealing ways… And these are just some of the ways a business can achieve distinction through its marketing systems!

And, yes, each of these can, and should, be systemized in order to further cement a competitive advantage. And given the relative ease of doing so – by, for example, mapping out each process in a Cashmap – the business will have the means by which to avoid the commoditization of the product or service and the related risk of having to compete on price.

In conclusion, if you want to achieve a substantial competitive advantage for your business, be sure to develop, market and sell a proprietary system for your products and services. By applying this approach to business development, which can be relatively easily documented using a Cashmap, this will help create a space within your marketplace that cannot be challenged by your competitors.

If you’re not following Bob or me on Twitter or Facebook, you may not be aware of the groundswell of excitement about the upcoming Extreme Business Makeovers ‘09 event.

One example of this is a great team of young entrepreneurs – Bradley Will, Gilbert Melott, Brian Tomkins and Gabe Strom – who caught fire for the principles in The Go-Giver and decided to put together a road trip to Orlando to see Bob and participate in Extreme Business Makeovers ‘09!

They’ll be bringing a few carloads of young entrepreneurs and conducting Meetups/Tweetups in several locations along the way.

Here’s a video they just produced about it…

The Go-Giver Tour team is also hosting a free teleconference tonight. Here are the details:
“Authenticity in Social Media”
Featuring: Internationally Bestselling Co-author of The Go-Giver, Bob Burg
Hosted by: The Go-Giver Tour & the Nextvoice247 Mastermind Group

On Monday, April 6th, you’re invited to a free 60-minute telephone seminar based on the Laws of Success from the Internationally best selling book the Go-Giver and how it connects with the power of social media.

“The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.” ~The Go-Giver

People do business with people they know, like and trust. Are you one of these people? Do you deliver value and do you constantly give without expectation?

Do you want to attract extraordinary customers and clients into your business and create extraordinary results? On this call Bob Burg himself will share with us how authenticity can be the basis to building world-class relationships though social media.

On this free 60-minute telephone seminar, you’ll also discover:

• What it means to be authentic, embrace personal authenticity and deliver authentic messages.
• How to create your unique story using the information translated by others before you.
• Why the laws from The Go-Giver tie directly into social media.
• How you create your own competition.
• Why you may think you are selling a product/service, but in reality you are selling YOU.

Details for the call:
Date: Monday, April 6th
Time: 7:00-8:00pm (cst)

***REGISTER NOW***
visit: http://gogivertour.com/burgcall

**Once registered, you will be sent the call details via email

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Carl W. Buechner

We have all learned that in order to experience increase in our own businesses, we need to concentrate on adding value to others. Most of the time, that is done through our products or services themselves, or perhaps, if we’re really astute, we will make an extra effort to become a center of influence and connect our clients to others as well.

However, did you know you could even add value in how you promote your business as well? It’s true! While I’m not a big fan of TV commercials that would appear more interested in entertaining than actually selling something, I AM a fan of online viral videos that both entertain AND connect somehow to the product/service behind them.

The following brief video is a GREAT example. Check it out and take note of how it makes you feel as an entrepreneur … and how that feeling links to grasshopper.com. It’s certainly not a hard-hitting direct marketing type of ad. In fact, the grasshopper name and service aren’t mentioned even once in the context of the video. However, within the span of about 3 weeks, they have had well over 100,000 views of this video and had the opportunity to present their telecommunications services to an audience that would normally yawn at the prospect of learning about another telecom tool. (And, they accomplished this with a shoestring budget!)

Enjoy the video!