Ep #9: Bob Burg Bestselling Author of The Go-Giver

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Go check it out right now, visit LOKestudy.com and download your free copy today. Welcome to Mortgage Marketing Radio brought to you by the Mortgage Marketing Institute, our number one source for truth in mortgage marketing. Welcome to another episode of Mortgage Marketing Radio. I'm your host, Jeff Zimper, thanks for being here and listening. As always, we have a fantastic guest for you this week and I want to start off with a question. Can a subtle shift in focus really make that big of a difference in your business and your income? Our guest today says absolutely yes. Our guest is Bob Berg. He's the author of a number of books on sales marketing influence with total book sales of well over a million copies. You may have heard of his book called The Go Giveer, co-author with John David Mann. It's self-hissolved over half a million copies and published into 21 languages. It's been reissued in a new expanded edition with a forward by Huffington Post founder and publisher, Ariana Huffington. Bob's also the host of the Go Giveer podcast available on iTunes. I encourage you to check it out and Bob's an advocate and supporter and defender of the free enterprise system believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He's also an unapologetic animal fanatic and serves on the board of trustees of furry friends adoption and clinic in his hometown of Jupiter, Florida. So without further ado, let's bring on Bob. Welcome to the show, Bob. Hey, thank you Jeff, great to be with you. Yeah, thanks so much for making time. So your book is called The Go Giveer. And you know, quick summary of it is it's a story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Though sometimes he feels as it's, you know, the harder and faster he works, the further away that his goals seem. So I wonder if you could just take a moment to tell us about, you know, the premise of the book. I noticed that you didn't title the book The Go Getter. And so maybe you also talk about why not, which one's more important? Sure. Well, the basic premise is simply that shifting our focus, and this is really the key, shifting our focus from getting to giving. And when we say giving in this context, we simply mean constantly and consistently providing value to others. And that doing so is not only a nice way, a pleasant way to conduct business, but a very financially profitable way as well. And you know, there's nothing soft about that. There's nothing la la or magical about that in a free market based economy where no one is forced to do business with you, whether directly as a consumer or a realtor who's going to bring the person to you, they're only going to do so because they believe you have their best interest at heart, and you only communicate that by being genuinely and authentically interested in them. So that's really what we mean by being a go-giver, it doesn't mean you give your business away, it doesn't mean you don't make a profit, no, you make a great profit. But it's the result of being focused on the other person. Thank you for that. So, you know, the concept in and of itself, right, being a go-giver, right, kind of the laws of reciprocity, if you will, give first, and I know you've got five laws, and we'll talk about that. I'm curious to maybe to back it up, you know, back to as you're beginning to get the idea for writing this book and the concepts behind it. Was there kind of an inspiration or a series of events that led up to you wanting to write about this concept of being a go-giver? Well, I had to book out years ago called Endless Referrals, which was a how-to book, and it was basically about how to develop the relationships, what I call the no-like and trust relationships, that continually create the environment for putting high quality prospects and referrals in front of you. And it was based on always being focused on giving value to others. So, as the year in this came out in the late 90s, I had always read and enjoyed the many business parables that came out. I love reading business parables, because within a short story, a quick read, you can usually get a really nice message that's really gripping, and I thought, wouldn't it be a great idea to take that basic premise and put it into a business parable? So, I spoke with John David Mann, who was the editor-in-chief of a magazine I used to write for, who even within a small niche market had the reputation as a great writer and storyteller. So, I asked John to work with me on it, and we collaborated on that. So, that was really how that got started. And it's interesting, because you brought up a great point earlier with Go Giveer and Go Getter, because we've all been tight. Go out there, be a Go Getter, right? So, the question is, are you and John saying now that being a Go Getter is a bad thing? And, of course, not. Absolutely. We love Go Getters. Why? Well, Go Getters get things done. They take action. And, you know, Greg, you and I, and everyone listening to this, we're all business people. And we understand that you can have the greatest ideas, the best thoughts, the most fantastic intent, but unless actions put into the mix, nothing's going to happen. So, we want people to be Go Getters. Now, the neat thing is that there's no natural division between a Go Getter and a Go Giveer. Many Go Getters, people of action, are also Go Giveers, people who are focused on bringing value to others. So, and we would say that every Go Giveer is also a Go Getter. The opposite of a Go Giveer, then, is a Go Takeer. And that's that person who feels almost entitled, if you will, to take, take, take without having added value to the person, to the process, to the, to the situation. Yeah. That's very interesting. You say that. And a Go Takeer, and I know you've talked in some of your presentations about social media and it's not about the tool, it's about the relationship, but do you see that people tend to, you know, approach how they engage online and social media as, as more of a takeer than a giver? Do you think that's kind of a problem you're seeing out there? Oh, with some people it is, but I think those are the same people, those are the people who do the same thing in, in the, what do you call it, IRL, in real life. I think the kids call it and, you know, so I mean, people are, you know, people pretty much are the same, whether they're online or, or, or in person, however, I think what happens is people who tend to be Go Takeers offline, when they get online, they almost feel as though they can actually pull it off because it's online. And so they start, you know, spamming people or even within their, their, on Facebook or, or Twitter, if you look into their timeline, it's all about them and their business and their great rates and, and everything else. And they're not building the relationship. And, you know, when I say that all things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know like and trust. What I don't say is that they'll do business with, with and refer business to those computers. They know like and trust because it's not about the technology, it's about the people. Yeah, and, and I've seen, unfortunately, right, you know, people get caught up in the bright, shiny objects syndrome and, you know, think that with, with technology, they're going to automate everything and automate their relationships and referrals. And, and just doesn't happen like that. And I'm sure you've seen where people perhaps are relying a little bit too heavily on high tech versus high touch. Right. And, and the fact that, you know, the, and high tech is fine because it gives us the opportunity to meet people that we wouldn't have been able to meet as easily and to develop that relationship, but it's still all about the relationship. So you still have to ask that person before you tweet or put something on Facebook or LinkedIn or an email is to ask yourself is what I'm about to do, not only going to be a value to this other person, but will they see it as being a value? Because remember, we can, we can define value as the relative worth or desirability of a thing of something to the end user or beholder, okay? You know, what is it about this product service concept idea, whatever that brings so much worth that I'll exchange my money in order to attain that value, right? Okay. So that's fine, but then you have to also know that value is always in the eyes of the beholder. It's not what we believe to be a value or what we think they should think is a value. Right. It's what they believe is a value and the chances are that, you know, even if you are working with some great rates, your competitor is as well. Right. You know, there's just no, the intrinsic value that a, that's, that a mortgage professional provides is fantastic. You're allowing people to do something that they wouldn't be able to do without you if it's a consumer and you're, and you're, you're helping a realtor to help that person to do that. And that's fine. So the intrinsic values there, but remember, when there were a whole lot of people who do what you do, you've got to be able to communicate additional value than just that intrinsic value of the, of the loan, otherwise it's going to come down to who has the best rate that day. Right. And so when you think about it, value can be communicated in probably hundreds of ways, but they, they tend to come down to what John David Mann and I call five elements of value. And they are excellence, consistency, attention, empathy and appreciation. And to the degree that you can communicate one or more, hopefully all five of those elements of value in every touch point with your prospects, with your customers, your clients, your referral source and so forth. From the time you meet them in the first conversation to the, the cultivating of the relationship to the actual transaction to afterwards, to the degree that you can do that, you take price out of the equation as much as it can be, or if, you know, many people are have the same rate, you're going to be the go to person, you're going to be that center of influence. Yeah, great advice there. So any practical applications of, you know, those laws, if you will, those principles. Well, when you first meet someone and it could be someone who might be a, a consumer, or you never know if that potential consumer knows someone else, who might be a consumer, right? It's to when you speak with them, invest the conversation in them, focus on them, you know, you meet Joe Smith or, or Joe Ann Jones, who happens to be a, who, who sells copying machines and, you know, instead of asking them if they're, you know, looking to buy a house or if they know someone who is, because right now if you do that, it's a turn off to them. You're, you're like every other person who does the same thing. But instead, what if you focus on them? What if you ask them what I call feel good questions? These are simply questions that are not prospecting or sales in nature. They're not intrusive. They're not invasive. But they do make this person feel good about themselves and feel good about you and begin to develop that no like and trust. Question such as, how did you get your start in the office products profession or how did you get started selling copying machines? And we think, well, that's not a, you know, that, that doesn't bring us closer to the sale. Actually, yes, it does because it brings us closer to their feeling good about us and wanting to know more about us and having that trust in us. And they've never been asked that question before, most likely. And so they're going to answer it and they're going to feel good that someone actually cared enough to, to, you know, share, to ask them to share their story, asking a person a question, I call the one key question that will, that will change your business. And that's, now you wouldn't ask this to a realtor, but you would ask this to a consumer or a potential consumer or a referral source. And that is, how can I know if someone I'm speaking with would be a good prospect for you? Or they're not in sales, but they're in, you know, in something where that wouldn't be a value. You can always say, how can I know if someone I'm speaking with would be a good connection for you? And by the way, a good way to prep a set is to say, I always enjoy connecting good people with other good people. How can I know if someone I'm speaking with is someone, you know, you'd like to meet or a good connection or a good referral? Yeah. No, that's a great question to ask. And I think it has applicability to almost anybody that a loan officer would engage with, including a real estate agent. Sure. What you're talking about there is, you know, the question about the copier sales person, you know, how did you get into the business? You're really talking about taking a real sincere interest in that individual long before you ever get to the conversation of business. Right. Exactly. And, you know, they, and they can tell when you're sincere about it or if you're doing it as a manipulative, manipulative technique, right? In order to, you know, to gain reciprocity or something like that. So you've got to be authentic. You've got to really care people, people know. Yeah. So that's interesting. You know, point you bring up a technique versus being authentic. So knowing that there's a specific process, one would have to follow to make someone feel, you know, special and for you to have that perception of being that go to person, that center of influence. Do you believe in following scripts and talk, talk tracks or just, you know, all from the hip? No, never, to me, never from the hip. But to me, a script or a technique does not necessarily mean you're less than authentic. Well, and let me, let me explain it this way. I'll often ask my audiences, how many of you have ever been to a play, whether it's a broadway player, your local player, whatever, and pretty much everyone will raise their hands. And I'll say, how many of you believe that those actors doing such a magnificent job on stage, night after night, how many of you think they're up there winning it? And no one raises their hand. We all see it's like, you know, if you ever watch a rock concert, do you think they don't rehearse? No. So no, tech and techniques are fine. It's a technique is something that you learn, but it's going to be for the right reason. And as long as that, you know, I always talk about people skills and people skills being such an important aspect of success. I mean, you know, success in life is probably based 10% on technical skills or talent. And 90% on people skills. Now someone said, well, that's not fair. That's not well. It's just the way it is. And so, you know, people who are successful deal with what is, but that's okay. But here's what I also believe. The single greatest people skill is a highly developed and authentic interest in the other person. And that's the key. So it's not whether we're rehearsing or using the screen. Of course, if you're going to use a script, you make sure you learn it so that it doesn't sound rehearsed, but you actually know it. It's part of your head and it's part of your heart because, and just like the questions that I suggest people ask, and I've got, you know, 10 of those, quite those feel good, quite now you'll never have time to ask all 10 during any one conversation, probably just two or three. But the 10 that I have, I always say, you know, practice them and learn them so that you know them so well that when you're asking them, you can be 100% focused on that other person. Because if you don't really know them well and you're asking that question, the entire time they're answering, rather than being focused on them, what are you thinking? Uh oh, what am I supposed to say next or what, you know, and then you're not really focused on that person. So when you really know your stuff and you really have practiced, you're actually allowing yourself to be more genuine and more authentic because you can really focus on them. Yeah, that's a great point. So it sounds like what you're talking about there, you know, you're making someone feel special essentially, right, because you're taking a personal interest in them. Sure. And so you have something you talk about in the book called the five laws, five laws of stratospheric success and we don't have time to go into all five, but I'm leaning towards one, the law of influence and because I know that's one of the struggles. Hey guys, what's up real quick? You've heard about the mortgage marketing pro membership before and I just want to quickly remind you if that you're in a place in your business where you simply need more purchased loans. You need to fill your pipeline with purchase business. Let's just face it, agents are still a solid pillar of business and sources of purchase business for you. Well, good news. 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