How You Can Own a Word in People’s Minds AND on Google – NameTag Guy

How You Can Own a Word in People’s Minds AND on Google

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 07:05 AM PDT

If you google the word “nametag,” it points to me first.

If you google the word “approachability,” it (also) points to me first.

This is not an accident.

In fact, I’ve spent every single day of the past seven years assuring that everything I do contributes to my company’s OWNERSHIP of those two words. (Check out my tag cloud gallery on Wordle!)

So, they’re mine. Forever. And YOU can’t have them. Neener-neener-neener!

Sorry to be so infantile. It’s just that Word Ownership is absolutely ESSENTIAL to your success in the marketing world. Because it’s not about marketshare – it’s about mindshare. And today I’d like to share seven strategies for making sure the net worth of your One-Word Equity skyrockets.

1. RESEARCH it. Spend some time perusing the websites of the ten most successful people in your industry. Ask yourself: What word do they own? How are they making that clear? What word could YOU own that’s better and more specific and more memorable? Another suggestion is to email twenty of your best customers and ask them, “What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of me?” Look for trends in their answers. Are you listening to the right people?

2. RECOGNIZE it. It’s not like you have to open a dictionary and just pick some random word to own. You already ARE a word. You just need to enhance and articulate your ownership of it. Ask yourself these questions:

o After meeting you, what is the one word that people will never think about the same way again?
o What is the one word you have published more thoughts about than anyone else?
o What word do you have to google to get your name to come up as the first ten hits?
o What’s the one word you are perceived as knowing more about than anyone else on the planet?
o When friends or family members introduce you to new people, what’s the one word guaranteed to be included in that conversation?
o When people see or hear your name, what is the first word that comes to mind?

3. EXPLORE it.. Imagine for a second that you’re starting a non-profit organization that builds community events for retired engineers. And maybe the ONE word that symbolizes what you’re all about is PARABOLA. Cool. So, here’s what you do next:

o Look it up in the dictionary.
o Do some serious wordsmithing.
o Google the word.
o Find out if there are books written ABOUT the word.
o Spend some timing writing your immediate reactions when you see that word.

Remember: “Owning” the word, means knowing everything ABOUT that word. And here’s the best part: If a potential customer says, “Parabola? Where’d you come up with THAT company name?” And YOU say, “Well, parabola comes from the Greek word “parabolicus” which means “application,” which is exactly the type of value we deliver to our customers….” Whoa. Unique, unexpected AND unforgettable! How much do you know about YOUR word?

4. RATE It. A lot of my clients tell me that they DO own a word, which is awesome. The only problem is when they say something like, “Well, my word is Passion” or “I own the word Integrity.” Ehhh. OK. Maybe you DO own that word. My question is: Do your customers think your word relevant, marketable, unexpected and cool?

Odds are, if your word some vague platitude, some trite term or some overused cliché, it’s NOT. Your word needs to move people’s eyebrows. This involuntary indicator of interest, intrigue and curiosity is the best instant barometer of your marketing. It means that your word possesses stopping power. Because the effectiveness of a message isn’t necessarily dependent on its longevity, but rather its ability to evoke emotion in the moment. Is your word making people stop in their tracks?

5. REGISTER it. The odds of registering www.yourword.com are highly unlikely, unless you want to fork over ten grand. So, the first thing you should do is mess around with a few different permutations of the domain. For example, if www.parabola.com was taken, what about www.parabolaexpert.com or www.parabolaworld.com or www.theparabolaguy.com?

Remember: When you own the domain, you own the idea. I suggest surrounding your domain by purchasing as many variations, permutations, misspellings, and connected domain names as possible. They’re only like ten bucks each, right? Isn’t your brand worth investing $1000 in domain names if that secures your position in the marketplace AND people’s minds?

6. RECORD It. That mean write articles … that means post blogs and tweets … that means do interviews … that means post tweets … that means publish your philosophy … that means put that word EVERYWHERE on your website.

Basically, you need to punch people in the face. You can’t count on your customers to connect the dots for you. In order to win the battle against the Attention Economy, it’s almost like you need to grab hold of people by their shirt collars and say, “Listen to me! Right here! OK, yes, you. This is exactly what I want you to do…”

Remember: Complexity generates contemplation. And contemplation kills sales because a confused mind never buys. Have you recorded your word EVERYWHERE, so there’s no question in people’s minds that it’s yours?

7. RE-LEARN It. If you want to new customers, new opportunities and, even the MEDIA to come to YOU – because you’re the Thought Leader, because you OWN that word – you have to be a student of it. You can’t just up and decide that you own the word parabola, register a few domain names, smear it all over your site, write a few articles about and then quit.

Here’s the secret: You HAVE to commit yourself to a life-long learning plan based around that word. Get Google Alerts on that word. Check Amazon for new books written about that word weekly. Continually explore and write about the various dimensions OF that word.

Word ownership is a continuous process. If you don’t dedicate yourself to enhancing your mastery and practicing that word everyday, someone else will steal it from you. What new thing did you learn about your word this week?

REMEMBER: One-Word Equity is the secret to becoming That Guy.

Own yours today.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What word would people have to search on Google to get your name first?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “101 Ways to Create a Powerful Web Presence,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

5 Strategies for Establishing a Sustainable Thought Leadership Position – Scott Ginsberg The NameTag Guy

Posted: 25 Aug 2009 08:47 AM PDT

1. Don’t try, seek or set out to be a Thought Leader. You earn this honorable designation when the world dubs you so. Furthermore, being a Thought Leader isn’t an intentional goal – it’s an incidental consequence.

As leadership professor Warren Bennis say in On Becoming a Leader: “People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves freely and fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So, the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself. To use yourself completely. All your skills. All your gifts, and energies – in order to make you vision manifest.” Are you trying or becoming?

2. Build an enrollment. That’s your mission: To enroll people in your thinking, vision, dream, philosophy and theory of the universe. Then, on an ongoing basis, to deliver unique value in a respectful, permission-based way.

Now, I understand that the idea of building an enrollment may sound too grandiose, too celebrity-ish and too impossible to the average businessperson. “Who am I to build an enrollment?” you think. Wrong question. Instead, ask yourself, “Am I being selfish with my knowledge?” Whom are you enrolling?

3. Notice things and give them names. Everyone has heard everything before. So, if there is nothing new under the sun, what do you say? Here’s your first clue: Create names, designations, acronyms and titles for the things you notice. Make them original, creative and consistent with the branding of your philosophy. These names are your content, your products, your branding, your expertise, your marketing, your technology, your philosophies and your differentiators.

As Thought Leader Seth Godin says, “Part of the challenge in breaking through is finding a niche you can overwhelm.” Remember: When you name something, you can do something about that something. You can begin exploration and working with that something. You can help people talk about that something. You can change people’s thinking about that something. I named “approachability.” What are you naming?

4. Take contrarian stances to as many ideas as you can. Try this: Make a list of all the conventional wisdom, traditional principles and standard operating procedures you disagree with or oppose to. Then explain why their way is stupid and yours is better. Here’s an example from one of my blog posts from earlier this year:

“Customers are overrated, clients are useless and prospects are for amateurs. You need FANS, and you need to give them megaphones.”

The best part is, when you 180 existing ideas and express them in a new way, you challenge people to think in a new way. You toggle their melons. That’s what leaders do. They walk with a constant posture of challenging the process. Do you pattern your thinking in ways that are inimical to conventional wisdom?

5. Constantly strrenghten your platform. Platform is EVERYTHING. It’s the single most important attribute of Thought Leadership. It’s a combination of your intellectual assets, visibility, network, notoriety, permission assets, credibility and positioning.

And the best part is, proper positioning through powerful platforming prevents the need for prospecting. Because clients come to YOU. On the hand, if you don’t have a platform, you may as well be winking in the dark. Because no matter how smart you are, you will be the only one that notices. Yikes. How strong is your Thought Leadership Platform?

REMEMBER: There is no finish line.

If you want to be a Thought Leader, you’ve got to work at it every single day.

Your followers are waiting.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you establishing a sustainable Thought Leadership Position?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the (full) checklist called, “45 Recession-Friendly Strategies for Entreprenerial Evolution,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

Nine Ways to Leave a Legacy of Openness – NameTag Guy

Nine Ways to Leave a Legacy of Openness

Posted: 20 Jul 2009 11:25 AM PDT

1. Accept bad news without the need for sugarcoating. That way, your people can give it to you straight. They can feel comfortable reporting negative information without the fear of being reamed by your emotional reactivity.

So, if you want this to happen, you have to demonstrate that you support failure. And a great place to start is by sharing a few of your own screw-ups FIRST. Sometimes that’s all the permission people need. Do you respond well to good and bad news?

2. Acknowledge others’ contributions to your worldview. Let people know their thinking has affected you. Here’s how:

(1) Show them the notes you took when you were listening to them
(2) Tell them how you recently quoted them during another conversation
(3) Share with them the insights you’ve stumbled upon after being inspired by something they said.

That should do the trick! Who’s toggling your brain?

3. Allow nothing to be meaningless in your sight. Ideas. Problems. Experiences. And especially people. They’re ALL good to you. They all have value. They all serve a purpose.

Because your attitude is: Everything matters. Everything has meaning. Everyone teaches you. Remember: Unconditional Positive Regard. What do you see when you see people?
4. Allow your stories to be open to new interpretation. When you tell a story, follow these steps. First, pause when you’re finished. Give the people listening to you the space they need to process and contribute.

Next, let feedback in. Listen. Consider new lessons you could have learned from the story. Play with newfound applicability. Then, write these new interpretations down. And thank people for adding value to your experience by saying, “I never would have thought of that!” or “Cool! Another lesson.” Are your stories up for discussion?

5. Ask for time to think about what they have said. This is another great move for making space in the conversation. It also prevents foot in mouth disease by buying you some time to process.

That way you can react less and respond more. What’s more, it builds a sense of curiosity and excitement in the mind of the listener, making you more listenable. Remember: Don’t be so quick to rush into the silence. How do you answer questions?

6. Be a rock people can count on. That means stillness. That means emotional objectivity. That means listening with the ears of your heart. That means not interrupting, fixing, judging or taking over the conversations. That also means staying solid to your core and reflecting people’s realities back to them so they can process their own solutions. Whom are you a rock to?

7. Develop the capacity for self-observation. Become the audience of your own drama, not just the actor. That way you can better understand how people experience you, as well as how they experience themselves when they’re with you. What side of the stage are you on?

8. Disagreeing is tolerable – disagreeing without proposing solutions isn’t. Think of it as a Positivity Ratio: Every time you disagree, promise yourself and your team that you’ll always bring two or three solutions along with you. That keeps receptivity high. Are your disagreements derailments or springboards?

9. Don’t be threatened by people who are smarter than you. Otherwise you’ll end up keeping people around you that are inadequate so you feel better about yourself. And that only leads to poor performance. Are you willing to be the dumbest guy in the room?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What will be your legacy of openness?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “71 Words Employees Never Want to Hear Their Manager Say,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!